Magus Emissarius
by ArchMagusNorth
Summary: AU Harry Potter is created by Magic itself in the line of Peverell to bring balance on planet Earth. He is Quiet, mistaken to be autistic, but dangerous when needed, and is One of two candidates for "Chosen One" along with his twin sister. Powerful!Harry
1. Prologue: A Brief History of Magic

Summery:

Harry James Potter is a being of pure magic, created by Magic itself in the line of Peverell. Quiet, mistaken to be autistic, but dangerous, One of two candidates to be considered as "The Chosen One" along with his twin sister, Harry embarks on a journey to fulfill the tasks set by the magic itself, lest the world be destroyed. AU

Extended Summery:

Harry Potter has been created by Magic to bring the sense of equality amongst the beings on the planet Earth. He is a very different child, does not talk much, devoted to his family and sisters, he can be very dangerous when the need to protect them is at hand. He shows an outstanding intelligence sometimes, but seems most unintelligible other times. He is mistaken to be autistic. But in reality, he is an emissary of Magic on this planet, with a specific task to fulfill. He is to restore the balance of power on this planet, and bring equality between the Magical and Non-Magical entities. Nobody understands him, but everybody is awe-struck by his occasional deeds. Read as Harry takes the world on a roller coaster ride.

(A/N) The Harry Potter in this story is very different from Cannon. This story is totally AU. While the incidents and concepts of cannon may be used, it is not going to follow the same plot. For one thing, Luna will be starting a year early in this story. I could not think of any more perfect pair than this story's Harry and Luna. Read it and figure out why.

**Prologue – A Brief History of Magic**

Magic just was, is, and will be. What it is is immaterial. Only its effects are. Since the beginning, Magic existed. And Magic created everything. It created a vast enormity of nothing, which we call _The Universe_. There was no God, no higher being or entity responsible for creating and maintaining reality. Everything came from magic and ended up with Magic. Magic is a sentinel, which invested itself in a never ending quest for the betterment of itself, refining, trying to increase its potency. It constantly tested itself creating new entities, breaking itself into various major branches and minor sub-branches of magiks that operated by a certain set of rules, within a specified boundaries.

One can call Magic selfish in a way that, it only cared about itself. But the same can be said about every invention, which is yet another device to ease one's process for doing something the hard way. Magic was merely trying to understand itself, and its capabilities.

Out of nothing, Magic created matter, and thus realized the change in itself. It changed into a type of magik that could not properly be contained. It probably was how the concept of energy was created. Out of energy, was created the entire contents of The Universe. Star systems, constellations, galaxies, planetary systems and their moons. On the most conducive planets, magic took the energy to a next level, where the matter and energy were put into the same entity, with capabilities of recreating the energies needed for sustenance. This was how life was created.

Magic realized that with life comes the opportunity of creating beings that can help in the Magic's quest for betterment and understanding. Thus, Magic began experimenting with the concept of 'will' in the beings. In certain life systems, it gave the beings no will of their own. They were born, lived and died at the whim of Magic. They spent their lives doing whatever was the Magic's bidding. To a certain level, Magic was satisfied with these perfect subservient entities. Under limited scrutiny, the beings performed exactly what was needed. No more, no less.

In other life systems, Magic explored the concept of limited independence. The individuality bestowed on to these beings let the beings try and figure out Magic's need behind a bidding, and provided not just what was needed, but beyond, thus aiding in achieving Magic's goals.

This led Magic to try the concept of free will. Magic understood the problems involved in letting its created beings find their own reason for existence. The destiny of each was to be made by their own devices. However, Magic also realized that letting beings have their own sense of accomplishments, brought the very best out of them. Driven by a device of their own selection, be that a positive force like determination and competitiveness, or negative device like jealousy, greed or hate, they always achieved the best results. This suited just fine for Magic. However, it dare not create too many of such life systems, for it knows that ingrained in every great system's very foundations, were the seeds of its own destruction.

Magic achieved the greatest understanding of itself, and its very existence out of such freewill driven life system. The knowledge gathered by every entity in such life system was given up to Magic when it died and coalesced back into Magic. However, due to the very nature of Freewill, new threats rose out of these life systems. Threats that were minor enough to be dealt with locally, or greater threats that can not. These bigger threats often tipped the harmony of the entire life system, and maybe at times even threatened Magic itself. Chaos ensued. These times, Magic itself interfered in order to bring back the harmony of such life system. When threats became too great, Magic would not hesitate to destroy the entire life system, and start from the scratch. The only loss would be the time it would take for the evolution cycle on the particular planet or moon to begin and flourish. Suffice to say, Magic had to do this many times at many different places of the universe.

One of the tiniest creations of magic was a puny little planet called Earth in a system of star called The Sun. Magic had not given enough attention to the way beings had been on this little inconsequential planet. However, it may have been because of this very oversight that the greatest breakthroughs in harnessing Magic way came from this planet. It was a surprise to Magic itself. The life system on this inconsequential little blip at the far end of the universe, traversing the least interesting of all galaxies called the Milky way had the best results to offer back to Magic.

Magic began paying closer attention to this system, ensuring that the harmony between creative and destructive forces of this life system was maintained at a proper level. It realized that for destruction and mayhem also had the side effect of greater advances in the study of magiks. As one of the beings on this planet said, _"The greatest technological advances are made during the times of war"_. Hence, Magic ensured that there were always enough opportunities for each being to take either the creative or the destructive path.

However, the evils of Freewill are not to be undone. Given an opportunity, the beings always seem to take the easiest path, neither the creative nor the destructive. The choices were not looked at from Magic's or society's point of view anymore. The choices were purely selfish. Negative devices took the frontal in every being's life. Magic could not understand how it could be, that any rule set forth for the betterment of the life system was always followed, yet the result farthest from the desired. Greed, Lust, Coveting, Jealousy, etc. These beings had classified their own devices into various categories, recognized them, yet did nothing to suppress them. Freewill, at times, brought the best out any being, but most times, brought the worst.

And so, Magic began influencing directly and indirectly on these beings. Through impinging new thoughts and ideas into select beings, or bestowing a certain type of gifts to some other, Magic made its will known to these life systems. When the times were dire and mere influence not sufficient, Magic created and sent emissaries to the life systems to bring back the balance of forces, restore the peace and harmony. These magical emissaries, or _"Magus Emissarius"_ came with the set of tasks, and resources to achieve them. The emissaries had the knowledge in Magic itself, amassed over several trillion years, and several life systems. They had the control and capacity to do the right thing to achieve Magic's tasks. However, they were rarely created. But, the field is set for this to happen for the second time on the puny inconsequential planet called Earth. Inconsequential? Maybe not any more.

Magic's influence on the beings of this planet was felt for long. Its influence on a man named Arthur got the system of Justice into the world. To assist him in his quest, Magic had created an emissary out of pure Magic by the name of Merlin. He achieved his goals of restoring the prosperity among beings and imbuing the sense integrity, which could be felt to this very day.

In the second age for men, Influence of Magic on four greatest minds of the time, and the Gifts to the Peverell brothers were meant to bring a sense of equality to the masses. Magic did not recognize the difference between magic wielders and non magical (muggles as they were called). For, the very fact that they are alive, means they are magical. Establishment of Hogwarts educational system was a success. But Peverell brothers failed. Two out of three brothers fell to the vices of the life system before they could even attempt to make way of their destiny. Ignotus Peverell remained faithful to the cause until his death, yet could not achieve it alone.

Magic concluded that for this cause to be realized, a second emissary is needed. Who more would be ideal than the descendent of the one who had strived the most for the goal. In the line of Ignotus Peverell, Magic decided, shall the Magus Emissarius be born, who shall teach the right of equality to the second age of men. Harry James Potter was thus created.


	2. Chapter 2:The Potters of Godric’s Hollow

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**Chapter 2: The Potters of Godric's Hollow**

Lily Potter was sitting on her favorite window seat, with a book in hand. It was the second floor bedroom of the house she and James had moved into just after their wedding. This house, in the heart of Godric's Hollow, carried with it many happy memories. The Potters of old, along with many light sided families of the wizarding world, were told to have been in the village of Godric's Hollow for many generations. It was a modest property with a small lawn in front. The entire setting of the property gave away warmth and peace that was worth many times its value in galleons, especially during the recent tiring times.

The Potters were not among the rich elite families of the wizarding world. They were sufficiently well off to lead a comfortable life though. Besides, having joined the Auror corps right out of school, Lily and James had earned a good name and fortune for themselves over the last few years. The times were difficult with Lord Voldemort, and his blind followers of blood supremacy who threaten to wipe away their peaceful way of life.

Staring out of her window, Lily saw the melting snow around her lawn as the cold winter made way into warmer, lively spring time. It was always her favorite time of the year, when new life sprang out defying the last vestiges of cold difficult times of winter. But that was not the only life that occupied her mind. She was thinking more about the new life making its way in her womb. And justifiably, she was scared. Scared of her very first pregnancy, scared of the type of world into which she was bringing this new life, and scared of what it would do to her family.

Her thoughts shifted to her husband, James. James was a good person, good husband, with a warm heart and good head on shoulders. But truth be told, he is still as immature as he was during their time at Hogwarts. She smiled at the happy memories at the school. The protected cocoon of learning, where little boys and girls became young men and women. The havoc James had brought to the school along with his three friends, Sirius "Padfoot" Black, Remus "Moony" Lupin, and Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew. The Marauders they called themselves, and true to the name, Hogwarts was taken for a spin.

Those were the days of innocent fun, when the war on the outside seemed so far off. But everything changed when they got out of the school into the real world. It was a cruel world where they have to be careful every waking hour, lest be crushed. One good thing in this cruel world is that the bond of friendship between the four friends, now five including Lily, is just as strong to this day. "Loyal to a fault", she thought with a smile, "and, they are my family". More family than her own sister at least, who alienated herself out of jealous spite.

It was on a cold December night, sitting around a warm dinner table with the four friends that she announced that she was pregnant. She could remember the prideful smile of her husband, and happy faces of her friends at the news, and the determined expression with which they assured her that they will protect the child in these difficult times. She trusted her family.

She was brought back to the reality when she heard a ping of the Floo network.

"Lily?" she heard her friend Alice's voice.

Lily walked over to the fire and sat on the chair facing the hearth. "Hello Alice! How are you?"

Alice had been her friend through all the years in Hogwarts. She was her dorm mate in Gryffindor, and her best friend. They had shared everything, from fears, to gossip, to happy moments and stood by each other through the times. Alice was the sister she wanted Petunia to be.

"Oh I am doing just great, Lily. In fact, I just came back from my regular checkup at St Mungo's, and I have some wonderful news" Alice said in a rush.

Lily smiled at the enthusiasm her friend showed. Alice had married the Ravenclaw classmate named Frank Longbottom just out of Hogwarts, and the couple had also joined Lily, James and Sirius in the Auror academy. Now, after almost four years, Alice is still her closest lady friend, considering none of her other three friends settled down. The best thing to happen was that, her honorary sister Alice is pregnant too. In fact, the delivery date for both of them was within a couple of weeks of each other

"What is it? Did you find anything about the baby?" Lily asked excitedly.

"Yes" Alice cried out, "And it's a boy. Isnt that great."

Magical maternity tools were far more accurate and have the capability of determining the sex of the fetus quite early in the term.

"That is great. Congratulations! You have to tell me everything about it. I am coming over" Lily jumped out of her seat, and to the kitchen. She left a note for James incase he came back early, and went over to the Longbottom manor for the afternoon.

oooOOOooo

She came back early in the evening, having thoroughly enjoyed her time at her friend's. Lily felt quite tired from her trip, and sat down besides her husband.

"Had a good time, love?" James asked wrapping a hand around her shoulder.

Lily leaned into her husbands arm, as she let out a happy contented sigh. "Yes. Alice went for her prediction test, and found out that it was a boy."

"That's great" James said. "When do we know about ours? I can not wait to find out if I have to raid the Quidditch stores or the cosmetics stores to spoil my child"

Lilly giggled and swatted him on his chest, "Oh? My child is going to be the most disciplined, well mannered and caring individual, and her mother would not appreciate them being spoiled." She finished giving James a mock glare.

"Well. You can try and stop me. But I hear the word around my office that children have this secret weapon, which no parent is immune to. That's enough to ensure they are spoiled"

"What is it?" Lily asked snuggling into him.

"It's called 'Puppy eyes', it seems" James replied solemnly as he pulled his wife closer. "And no one is immune from it"

Lily laughed as she saw James' grave face cracking up. "Well" she said "I have a lot of experience using that weapon. It's not so secret among us intellectuals"

"hey. I will have you know that I am one of the most intellectual person around." James said with a smirk." James said, then asked back "When did you use it"

"How do you think I got you to agree for wearing that ridiculous bansai outfit in our seventh year Halloween party?" Lily asked slyly.

James mock dirty look to his wife "I knew that. And your argument about matching banshee-bansai outfits was a load of hot air too. Wasn't it?"

"Of course, darling. If you even tried to look up what a bansai is in the library, you would have noticed that there was no such thing." Lilly replied giggling uncontrollably thinking about what a fool James had made out of himself that day.

"You are a sly one, aren't you." James said tickling his wife around the middle, where he knew she was the most ticklish.

"Hey. Stop that!!" Lily squealed pushing away James hands from the offending action. "And if it's of any consolation that was the day I decided to spend the rest of my life with you"

James cocked his head, looking at his wife, "How is that?"

"Well. Anyone who was ready to make a fool of themselves in front of the entire school just to please me, is worthy enough to spend a life time. Don't you think?" Lily said looking into his eyes.

James got his goofy smile on and pulled his wife into him, kissing her lips. The kiss deepened as the couple let out a content sigh of companionship.

ooo0000ooo

That night, Lily was awakened from her deep sleep as she felt a sudden tingle of outside magic placed on her. Her own inherent magic had recognized the extraneous power, and woke her up. She felt the tingle around her now perceivably round tummy, which brought a sense of terror within her. It was a kind of terror that only a mother could feel for her child. Her very magic and life force rose up to counter the external influence. But now that she is awake, she realized that the magic seem to give out a sense of calm, and blessing to her. She felt the reason for her existence has been revealed to her as the magic seem to bestow upon her the gift of life itself.

Looking down she saw her small, but round tummy seem to glow in an ethereal green light that seem to be coming from within her as well as around. She felt a shift in her womb with a small twinge of pain that disappeared immediately. She then fell into a deep sleep under the blessing of magic, knowing that if any, the very Magic would be ready to protect her child… children? _"Now where did that thought come from?"_ was her last thought for the night.

ooo0000oooo

Next day, as soon as she woke up, which was later than usual much to the surprise of herself and her husband, she told him about the strange feeling she got the night before. Predictably, James panicked.

"We will go to St. Mungo's immediately." The ash-faced James Potter exclaimed, as he got up from their breakfast table.

"But James, I feel fine. In fact, I feel more than fine. Wonderful if I daresay" Lily replied with amusement as James bristled around getting things ready.

He threw a pinch of floo powder into the fire and shouted, "Padfoot's pad"

"Sirius" he shouted into the fire.

After almost a minute, and a couple of more shouts, the fire turned green as the head of Sirius Black appeared in it. He seemed to have just gotten up, hair tusseled and an expression of bewilderment on face.

"Prongs. Do you know what time it is? Whats the matter at this ungodly hour?" Sirius asked with exasperated. It was 8:30 in the morning.

James did not seem to care or hear what Sirius said, as he quickly said, "It's about the baby. Lily felt something strange last night, and she said it hurt. We are going to St. Mungo's immediately. Can you come along?"

As soon as he heard the word 'baby' Sirius became alert. Lily came behind james with an expression of bemusement and exasperation clearly written in her features. "I am fine, Sirius. And I felt a twinge of pain for a second and it was gone. In fact I feel great and more excited about my baby" then she corrected under her breath, _"babies."_ Not particularly understanding why she felt that way.

But like all men, Sirius' mind caught the most important part of what lily said, "Pain?" he turned to James and exclaimed, "Why didn't you call me earliar? I am coming there in five minutes. We need to go to St. Mungo's immediately"

Even before the Potters could reply, his head disappeared. James got up and ran up to their bedroom as he shouted "Lets get dressed"

Lily shook her head more out of amusement at the two men's panicked reactions. "Men" she thought with an exasperated sigh as she followed her husband in a more sedate pace.

Exactly four minutes and thirty nine seconds later, a bit more presentable Sirius tumbled out of the fire place to find James impatiently pacing the living room of The Potters' house.

"What happened? Tell me everything" he asked James. James launched into what happened last night according to lily. They both began impatiently waiting for Lily to come down.

Lily came down to find both men pacing, and if the speed is any indication, both men seem very impatient.

"Stop making holes in my carpet" she said smiling.

James jumped at her voice, "What took you so long?"

Lily gave him a long look filled with amusement and annoyance, as she headed to the fire.

"Women" both men thought shaking their heads and letting out a long sigh.

Sirius and James waited outside the examination room on the ground floor of St. Mungo's pacing, and occasionally throwing impatient glances at the exam room. Many a times, James made it to go into the exam room, but held back as the nurse at the station beside the door gave him a dirty look.

Finally, the door opened to lead their family healer Andromeda Black-Tonks, and a widely grinning Lily exited. James quickly went over to his wife and hugged her. "Whats the matter?" he asked the healer.

"Nothing" Healer Tonks said. "Your wife and both the babies are just fine." She said with a grin.

James became revealed for a second before he caught up with what she said.

"Babies?" He cried out as he slowly turned to his wife to find Lily's grin threatened to split her face.

"We are having twins." She exclaimed.

"Twins?" James said with a gob smacked expression on his face, which slowly gave way to a smile.

"Twins." He said again with a widening smile. "Twins" Lily replied with an equally happy voice.

"Twins!!" they heard a voice beside them. They turned to see Sirius pump his fist in the air. "Great. More kids for me to buy things and spoil them rotten. James, old boy, I didn't think you had it in you. But you end up being a father-to-be. Now we find that its twins? Boy, were you on the roll." Sirius finished with a cheesy grin on his face, earning a smack on arm from her cousin Andromeda. "Ouch! That hurts! What's wrong with you woman" he said rubbing his arm

Lily gave him a long look, and then turned to her husband and said, "It's a boy and a girl."

James replied, "Great. Now I have to visit both Quidditch and cosmetics shops at the same time."

"But what about the weird magic tingle and the pain?" James suddenly remembered and asked.

"I am not sure what to say about it. I could not find any problem with all three of them. Although if I have to make a guess, I would say that the kids are going to be highly powerful in magic usage." Healer Tonks replied.

"Why is that?" Sirius asked from the side.

"Well, you see, it's been told that when a newly conceived powerful child uses magic within their womb, even the mother would feel it. A womb is, after all, a very small place for two children to share, don't you think. My guess is that this could be the first accidental magic performed by either or both the babies."

"You mean, my kids just made themselves a play ground in my wife's womb?" James asked bewildered.

"Maybe. But the important thing is, you have nothing to worry about. And a lot to look forward to." Healer Tonks assured them. "Come see me if you have any problems though" She added.

The happy couple made it back to The Potter' House in the early afternoon. Lily went back to the fire to spread her happy news, while James and Sirius went over to the ministry.

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(A/N) Please Read & Review

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	3. Chapter 3: Prophecies and Chosen Ones

**Chapter 3: Prophecies and Chosen Ones**

Albus Dumbledore is an old man. He had held the bastion of light for a long time already. For over a century, he had been aiding the betterment of masses who did not even acknowledge his help. But he knew the reason why he must continue. He shuddered thinking of his ideals and plans that he made along with a mad genius in his younger years – Gellert Grindelwald. It was the death of his one sister that has brought him crashing back to the reality.

From that day on, he had fought the very ideals he helped formulate. The cost of undoing this was too much to bear. Lives of innocent humans could not be brought back... Families broken could not be unmade. All he could hope for is the day when someone, anyone, could forgive his mistakes. But, being over a century-and-half old, there were not many remaining, who could see him eye-to-eye. No one saw him as an old man, or even a man prone to making his own share of mistakes. He was looked at as the leader of light, and the greatest wizard of current time. They take his word as a law. No one was left to argue against his choices on equal ground. This is a responsibility he was most scared of.

After the war with Grindelwald, he retreated from the public eye. It was, after all, a victory that left sour taste in his mouth, which could be felt even now. He decided to dedicate his life for the molding the young minds attending Hogwarts. He looked over with prideful eyes at all the achievements his one time students had made possible. He considered his life's reason for existence fulfilled. That was until he taught one student over thirty years ago. Tom Marvolo Riddle. He was ashamed to have not seen the signs of danger young Riddle had shown, during his time at Hogwarts. Later, he failed to see the evil-incarnate he became, fashioning himself as Lord Voldemort.

Driven by hate and greed for power, young Riddle had delved deep into the forbidden dark and black arts of magic and was lost beyond redemption. To Albus' most disappointment, he took up the very ideals he had made along with Grindelwald, but towards a different goal. While Dumbledore had wanted the wizarding world to be better than the non-wizarding world, and thus the rightful rulers, Riddle concentrated on the aspect of power. He was always in the quest of power. Power to rule and decide the fate of every being. He chose to ignore the concept of right or wrong, and redefined them in his own twisted sense of morality. He did not realize that what had been right or wrong in the past, remains the same, and does not change with time.

And now, Albus Dumbledore has been forced to lead the campaign of light against his once favored student. But the question that plagued him was "How?" In the war against Grindelwald, he knew what the enemy was after, and his weaknesses (Albus was, after all, once his best friend). Grindelwald may have been looking for power to rule, but he was driven by the ideas of greater good, and so quite unwilling to take life unnecessarily.

But Riddle was far more devious and cruel than Grindelwald; and he played his hands very close to his heart. His rise to power is the evidence for that. Within no time, he rose from a no-name dark wizard to the ruthless dark lord. He struck when least expected, with a viciousness never before seen. His fear tactics were absolute. He did not leave any enemy or a potential enemy alive. Families with many members, including women and children, that opposed him met their end at the hands of Lord Voldemort or his minions. Albus had lost many friends and students to the hands of this monster. Cruel, unthinkable things done to not just the enemy, but to their families had struck terror in the hearts of many. The fear was so absolute that people shuddered to utter his very name, resorting to minor epiphanies like "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" or "You-Know-Who". To fear for ones life is one thing. But to fear for the lives of the family members is something nobody can get over. Albus did not know how to retaliate this fear.

On this cold wet day at the beginning of spring, Dumbledore was making his way to his brother's old pub in the village adjoining Hogwarts. The Hog's Head of Hogsmeade had been home to Aberforth and his goats for almost a century now. He had received an owl from a lady named Sibyll Trelawney. The name immediately rang in his mind. He found that she was the great-great-great-granddaughter of the famous Cassandra Trelawney, whose very predictions were said to have saved the future of wizarding world during the end of dark ages. Steps taken with the guidance of the seer had ensured the survival of wizarding kind from extinction.

It is due to the respect for such an accomplished seer, that Albus agreed to meet the candidate for the post of Divination at Hogwarts. With an exception of a handful, Albus knew that the art of divination is most coveted yet least accomplished of magical arts. It is Albus' private hypothesis that only when a higher being or sentinel Magic decided to share a glimpse of what to come, would an oracle give out the information. Such an oracle must have a deeper connection with magic, or blessed with the gift. But, in all his research, Albus could not even prove that there is something called sentinel Magic. Hence, that direction of study was snubbed.

Hence, with a considerable research behind him, Albus decided the art of divination is too inaccurate to be taught at a school for children and young adults. After all, someone with a gift doesn't need the art to be taught, while someone without the gift can never learn it. Magic would not agree for everyone to have the gift.

He entered the dank interiors of Hog's Head, and made it to the counter to greet his brother. Aberforth was a simple man compared to his over-accomplished brother. He never showed an interest in any specific thing. Through his younger years, he wasted away in various misadventures, finally settling himself as a bartender at Hogsmeade. He never was interested in making fame or money. "You made enough fame and money for both of us" he would say to Albus whenever the topic was raised. Aberforth was content at where he was, and Albus was just happy for it. Besides, with the reputation that Hog's head has made over time, it was the best place to collect information that must not be uttered or heard outside. This helps immensely during the times of war or even peace.

"Hello Aberforth" Albus greeted his brother warmly.

Aberforth gave him a curt nod, and said, "You are good, I see" while filling a clean glass with amber liquid, and passing it to Albus.

Albus smiled at his taciturn brother. "How is the business doing? And your goats?"

"Both good" Aberforth replied, "though Bill's getting lonely"

It was his way of saying that Albus did not visit him for a long time, and he felt lonely. Albus got that information loud and clear. He took the glass of liquor from Aberforth, clinked it against his brother's glass and downed it in a gulp. He looked around and saw that there were not many patrons at the moment. There was one person in the far dark with a black robe and hood drawn that attracted his attention.

Albus realized a long time ago that even among the shady people, there are always some who stood out. One has to always look out for them, as they probably are the ones to cause the most mischief. Albus gave a look to his brother, who gazed at the dark figure once and nodded lightly.

The door opened and a woman donned in glistering robes, covered gauzy spangled shawl entered the pub. As she made way towards Albus, he saw that she was very thin, and wore large glasses that magnified her eyes many times. There were many chains and beads around her neck and bangles, rings adorned her hands. All in all, she resembled very closely to an over sized insect. A single look at Aberforth was sufficient for Albus to conclude that he was not the only one to be amused at the lady's attire.

"Sibyll Trelawney, I presume" Albus asked the lady politely.

She seemed startled at being addressed, and looked closely at Albus, gazed upwards as though seeing into the depths of the stained wooden ceiling for sometime, snapped back to Albus' face and exclaimed, "Albus Dumbledore. Yes. I am Sibyll Trelawney. The inner eye showed me that you were about to be delayed for a few minutes, and so I waited for sometime before entering this establishment"

Having been a Professor at a school full of children, Albus had heard explanations for being late on many occasions. This, by far, was the most unique one he had ever heard.

"Indeed Ms. Trelawney. I did have things to catch up with the dear bartender here. Now, if you please, we can proceed to the closed booth on the side, and continue our discussion"

He led Trelawney, who seemed to have bathed in her perfumes (quite a few at the same time) to the private booth on the side.

After closing the door, he seated the younger woman and sat in front of her. He knew that the lady was hopeful for the job, and judging by the condition of her shoes he caught glimpse of, she needed it badly. But, Dumbledore refused to bring a fraud anywhere near his beloved school. He needed to first ascertain the skills of their teachers.

"Now, Ms. Trelawney, You are the great grand daughter of the celebrated seer Cassandra Trelawney?" she nodded looking a little nervous for the first time.

"Then, I personally wish to offer my gratitude to your family for her help" Albus said in a placating way.

"You are welcome, Professor Dumbledore. Although I fear that your personal perils have not been over. Dark days await you Professor. Your very life is in danger" she finished solemnly.

"Ah. At this old age, I do not think I can take much excitement, Ms. Trelawney. I may not even survive these new tensions for long" Albus replied tentatively

She leaned over the table, and with a grim expression said, "Do not take this lightly Professor. My inner eye shows that there is a grim overhanging your head. The dark lord seems to mark you personally as an enemy. I gazed into the depths of my crystal ball before coming here, and saw a fate far greater than what you fear in your future. But your fate is not just yours to make, but shared with the soul closest to your heart."

After the duel he had with Riddle last November, it was no real secret that he was the only one Riddle feared and felt challenged about. He clearly knew that the soul closest to his heart was long gone, and hence the information about the crystal ball reading - a load of codswallop. It was becoming clearer by the minute that the gift of foreseeing has not been passed to this grandchild of Cassandra. Albus really hated this part where he has to reject the candidate.

He was choosing his words and was about to begin speaking, when Trelawney suddenly became rigid in her seat. Her eyes unfocussed, glowing dully and mouth sagging.

"BEWARE PROTECTOR" she said in a harsh raspy voice.

"THE ONE TO VANQUISH THE DARK CONDUIT OF MAGIC APPROACHES…. BORN ON THE THIRD DAY OF THE THIRD PHASE IN THE SEVENTH CYCLE OF EARTHLY MOON…."

Albus heard a scuffle outside his booth but ignored it, totally focused on the person in front of him.

"BORN IN THE LINE OF THE MAGIC'S GIFT BEARER…. MAGUS EMISSARIUS FOR THE SECOND AGE APPROACHES…. AS THE HOLDER OF HALLOWS…. THE DEVOUT SOUL SHALL BE THE BALANCE OF THIS WORLD…. BUT HEED THIS WARNING…. AID TO AID EQUALITY, OR JUDGE TO BE JUDGED FOR EXISTENCE…. ONE TO VANQUISH THE DARK CONDUIT OF MAGIC APPORACHES"

Trelawney slumped in her seat, but Albus was too surprised to even act in her aid. He thought about the words spoken to him. He was sure that this was a real prediction. The gift, it seems, was not passed over Sibyll. But who was she talking about? Who was this devout soul? And who was the dark conduit? Could it be that the current dark lord is the conduit? If so, this is alarming news indeed. It has been told that the greatest sorcerer of magic, Merlin, never had to use a focusing device like a wand or staff. He was known to be a conduit of pure magic, and thus undefeatable. If Voldemort had such power at disposal, future of this entire world is at stake.

If he understood the words, this devout soul is the only one capable of stopping the dark conduit. He really hoped that Voldemort was not the conduit talked about, but the past experience with prophecies show that when no specific time was mentioned, it applies to the current time, Now. Most disturbing, indeed.

He snapped out of his thoughts when a cough alerted him to the seer's presense. She was looking at Albus with nervousness. She does not seem to realize that she just foresaw. But having seen her prophesize, Albus had already made the decision. He smiled and said, "Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Trelawney. Your rightful place on our side had been vacant for a very long time, and is awaiting your arrival"

Soon after, the now ecstatic Trelawney left the pub, with a promise to move into Hogwarts by the summer time, settle in and come up with the schedule for her classes.

With a heavy heart and a lot on mind, Albus got into the main area of the pub to see that Aberforth had closed down the pub and was sitting with the black figure at his wand end.

"Aberforth?" He asked gently.

"Spy" is all he said pointing his wand at the figure. Albus immediately became alert. This did not bode well, if this spy had heard the prophecy. It is nigh impossible to predict what the dark lord would do, if he hears the prophecy. He looked deeply into the eyes of the spy trying to decide on the next course of action.

What happened in that pub that night was never known outside. But at the end of the evening, one Severus Snape became a spy for Order of Phoenix in the ranks of Voldemort. His loyalties however, were always in question.

Having heard the discussion with the new spy, Aberforth raised the question Albus dare not ask himself, "You trust him to do what is safe for his love. But do you trust him to do what is right for light?"

Albus went back to Hogwarts with a troubled mind. Troubled in many facets.

ooo000ooo

The months leading to the summer were filled with anticipation and shopping for the Potters, and the Longbottoms. To the surprise of Potter and Longbottom men, the wives seem to find time to do even more shopping together. After knowing that there were going to be twins, Lily began buying two each of almost everything she could get her hands on at the baby stores. There were items which James and Frank could neither pronounce their names nor figure out their purpose, but the ladies insisted that they were absolutely essential. Wisely, they kept their opinions in the matter quiet and let the ladies have their ball. After a few emotional outbursts due to pregnancy, the men gave up their figurative pants-of-the-house to ladies and began serving to their every whim and need. It was not uncommon for Frank and James to meet each other at the overnight food and beverages stores late into the nights.

On the bright blue morning of July the 30th, Alice gave birth to a healthy baby boy with brown hair and dark eyes. The parents proudly named their son Neville, after his maternal grandfather. The ground floor maternity ward of St. Mungo's was now brimming with friends and visitors of Longbottoms.

That evening, to everyone's surprise, Albus Dumbledore visited the new parents in the hospital. He took the baby Neville into his hands and looked closely, gauging the size of inherent magical core of the baby. He concluded that young Neville had a magical core that was above average, and with enough practice he would be a powerful wielder.

Frank seemed a little put out by Albus' proclamation of "Just above average". Albus was quick to appease the new father by saying,

"I had conducted the similar test on you as well as your wife, Mr. Longbottom, and compared one against the other, let me assure you that your son is more powerful than you as well as your wife. But really, the size of ones magical core does not mean a thing since many use only a fraction of power accessible to them."

"What do you mean by that, Professor?" James Potter, who was standing beside Frank, asked him

"Well Mr. Potter, typically, people utilize about 30 to 40 percent of their inherent magical core. In rare cases, such as myself with all modesty, use just over 50 percent of their magical core for casting spells. I am sure you youngsters must have used the phrase, 'it does not matter what the size is, but how you use it'" Albus asked slyly looking over his half-moon glasses at the men. Getting the expected smiles, Albus continued, "Well in the case of magical cores, it can be applied word for word. With training, Neville has the capability of becoming a great wielder of magic"

While the men were chatting amongst each other, the new mother, and the mother-to-be were happily talking about the babies. As Lily got ready to leave, she felt her water break, and loudly called, "James".

James, along with Frank and Albus came running into the room to find a small puddle of wetness at Lily's feet. It was a great fortune that Lily was visiting her friend at the exact place where she needed to be at the moment – the maternity ward.

Lily, along with the now ash faced James, was lead do the labor room, where James was promptly kicked out of the room.

"I do not understand. Lily's date is not due for another three weeks" James said outside the room.

The other men chuckled at the nervous father-to-be. Frank said, "Well, I was told that children operated on their own schedules. They begin setting the terms even before their birth and never cease until our hair goes white. I was told to be ready for such a premature birth as well. You need not worry"

Albus, on the other side of the room also felt an odd sense of excitement. He had calculated the date given according to the prophecy to be the next day for this year. But when young Neville was born a day before, and Potter's not expecting for a few weeks, he thought that there may have been some mistake as the precise calculation of time, and young Neville is the chosen one. Prophecies were after all very deceptive, and easy to misinterpret. Their meaning could be comprehended differently in different contexts. But Albus dare not discuss the contents with other experts due to the risk involved. Now, with the Potters expecting a child birth on this very day, many more things can change. Even the chosen one's identity.

Lily was in labor for many hours. After many nervous advances into the room, and many hexes being thrown at him by the hurting mother-to-be, James resigned to sit in the waiting room, half heartedly listening to the reassurances his friends were giving him. Having no real work to do, Albus chose to wait along with his one time students, discussing the old times when the Marauders had caused him to lose much of his hair. During the discussions, Albus found to his surprise that the invisibility cloak the miscreants had used in their schooling days was a Potter family heirloom, and is still active. Albus stored away this piece of information for later on, as he suspected this may be one of the legendry hallows of the Peverell brothers. If it is, two of the parts from the prophecy pointed towards Potters being the parents of the chosen one.

Sometime after Midnight, James was called inside to view the birth of his children. The others waiting outside, could hear Lily's cries of pain and James calming words. After what seemed like an eternity, the first cry of a baby was heard. It was proclaimed that the baby girl "Abigail Ephidora Potter" was born at a weight of 6 lb, and a healthy loud mouth. Her wails were ringing in the ears of people outside the labor room also.

Precisely after thirteen minutes, the baby boy named, "Harry James Potter" was born without a squeak. In fact, as soon as he was born, the midwife in charge had to ascertain that the baby was not stillborn. Before a startled James, she lifted and held him by his legs, which normally incurred an ear splitting wail from infants. But this boy just flailed his arms around and settled back. Certain that the baby was not still-born, the midwife had conducted all the necessary ministrations and laid him beside his sister in a crib. All through this, the baby boy had not even let out a peep.

Once allowed inside, the visitors gathered around the twins crib beside the new mother. They cooed and gasped at the little baby beauties as they congratulated the new parents. All the attention seems to have disturbed her, as Abigail began crying suddenly. She did not get quiet in the hands of her parents or friends. Lily tried feeding, or rocking her or cooing to her. Nothing seem to calm the baby down. Quite afraid that something could be wrong, James placed the girl in her crib beside her brother to go find a healer. As soon as the baby was laid down, young Harry Potter raised his hand and placed it on his sister's arm, which immediately seem to quiet her down. This came as a surprise to everyone in the room.

"Boy, you got an enforcer here Prongs." Sirius commented jokingly to relax the tense mood in the room "One loud mouth, and one enforcer. Quite a pair" he finished with a smile.

James and Lily could not feel happier to find nothing wrong, and both babies healthy.

Sirius walked back to the crib and looked down at the babies. "I have not heard a peep out of this little guy. I hope he doesn't have as big mouth as his sister" he said poking his finger on the side of the infant.

To the immense surprise of the man, as well as the other onlookers, Harry opened his eyes showing their bright green color (brighter than Lily's) and gazed unblinkingly at Sirius for a few seconds. He then reached slowly to the offending finger that was poking, wrapped his small stubby hand around the older man's finger, and pulled it away from his side. He then quietly closed his eyes and seemingly went back to sleep.

"What just happened?" Sirius asked his friends uncertainly. Nobody, not even Albus, could explain what happened. Infants just after the birth are not known to be aware of their surroundings. Nor were they known to interpret a situation and take necessary action against it.

"It would seem that the intelligence of Lily at least was passed down to her son" Remus said making light of the situation.

James looked around trying to ease the tension in the room, asked Albus. "Well Albus, what do you think of the magical capabilities of my children?"

"Ah. I should have an answer for that in a moment" Albus said walking over to the crib. James sat down beside his worn down, but quite happy wife taking her hand into his.

Albus lifted the baby girl and looked closely at her. "The eldest Potter child, Abigail Potter" He said. "The bringer of joy and happiness around. I see that her core is quite big. At least a couple of times larger than the average wizard's core" he said in wonder. "You have a very powerful daughter Messrs Potter. She will be a handful when she begins to show her magic" He said gently laying her down in her crib with a smile.

He moved to the other side of the crib, and lifted the baby boy up. "The eldest Potter male child, Harry Potter" He said "The protector and heir apparent of the Potter line." He looked closely at the boy, a frown slowly forming on his face.

After what seemed like an eternity, but actually a little over a minute, Remus ventured, "What is it Albus?"

Albus slowly turned and said, "I have no idea about the magical prowess of this boy. I could not get a read out of him"

Fearing that their baby is unwell, Lily asked quickly, "What do you mean? Albus, he is not –"

"Quite frankly, I do not know, Mrs. Potter. Usually, every being has a bit of magic imbued into them. Even the Muggles and squibs have some, which is called the life force of the being." Albus paused. "In the case of young Harry here, I could not even get the reading of his life force"

All the adults paused for sometime, when Remus asked slowly the question that was on everyone's mind, "Could not even read the life force? But, how is that possible, Albus? I mean he is breathing"

"Yes Mr. Lupin. That is what I do not understand. It was written that sometimes, magic mutates to result in new forms that was never seen before. That may very well be the case here. I can not say much about Harry's magical prowess until he is older. For now, I think taking the word of your healer is the best option. You have a healthy baby boy".

James held tightly at his wifes hand, and looked deep into her eyes. After an unspoken communiqué was exchanged, James proclaimed,

"It does not matter if he is a squib or a magical sorcerer. We will love and care for our children in the same way. They are ours, and we will lay the right path for them depending on their abilities, but we will never follow the pureblood mantra of abandoning or neglecting children just because they did not show signs of magic" Lily nodded her head on the side with equal conviction.

Sirius and Remus looked down at the twins with the same determination. If they had been paying closer attention, they would have seen the boy's lips quiver as if in a smile. As such, Remus, with the werewolf enhanced senses, heard a quiet happy sigh emitted from the crib, and Albus, with enhanced magical senses, felt the shift in the ambient magic of the room. If he were to guess, he would have said magic was happy.

"And wisely spoken Messrs Potter. As your educator, I am happy and proud of your outlook in the face of this unforeseen circumstance" Albus said looking down at the baby boy. "But one thing is for sure. Harry Potter is quite different from normalcy, and I have a feeling that he plays a very important role in deciding the future of our world." He quietly added, "The only question now is, How?"

* * *

(A/N) I have read many wrong-boy-who-lived stories where Lily and James would not care for one child or lose him due to their negligence. I refuse to believe that it happens in reality. No parent would neglect their child enough to cause them harm or suffering. Sure, it might happen that one child is favored a little more than other(s) but not out of spite. This however, is just my opinion. The Lily and James Potter do not neglect Harry just because he seems different, or may not be the chosen one. They love and protect their children equally.

(A/N 2) I would love to hear your thoughts about my story. So don't forget to hit the review button below and drop in a word. It helps a lot more than you would think. Thanks.


	4. Chapter 4: Gatherings and Conversations

(A/N): This chapter, along with the next is very important for my story. Things get heated up, and the potters eventually get to know Albus' thoughts. My longest chapter till date.. over 8K words.. I just could not find a right chapter break ... but still... I feel proud….

* * *

**Chapter 4: Gatherings and Conversations**

The days after the birth of twins were bright and sunny, like a promise of new beginnings. It was especially true for the Potters. The new parents were very awkward in handling the babies.

"They seem so fragile, Lily. I am scared to even hold them".

"Do you think it's already the feeding time? Why doesn't Abby quiet down?"

"Nurse Connolly, is it normal for the baby's skin to be this pink around the face?"

"Healer Clearwater, the babies soiled their diapers twice already in the last hour. I think something is wrong."

…and many other such comments were heard all through the next few days and nights from the Potter's ward room.

Sirius usually remained with his friends during the nights, while Remus would return to his flat. It was less than a week before the next full moon, and Remus was already feeling tiredness set in. Every night, all through the night, Sirius acted as the page boy for the Potters, calling the pretty nighttime-nurse named Amy Connolly into Potters ward whenever commanded. After what seemed like a hundredth time running to the nurse station one night, Sirius left the ward to take a walk, lest he be driven mad by the new parents. He still ended up by the nurse station, and sat heavily on the couch beside.

He rubbed over his eyes, trying to push the tiredness away. He heard a quiet chuckle by his side, and pulled his hands away to find an amused nurse looking at him sympathetically.

"I am glad that you find amusement at my current situation" he said snidely.

"Oh. No need to be so cross about it. They were just worried about their children", the nurse replied shaking her head.

"I don't mind them worried about their children. But I have a slight problem with it, when it becomes a bit hazardous to my health and sanity." He looked thoughtful for a moment, and added, "Whatever is left of it. How can you be so calm about it anyway? They were literally driving me up the wall in that ward" Sirius said with exasperation.

The nurse pushed away from her table, and walked over to sit on the sofa facing Sirius, as she replied with a smile, "Now that's a bit of exaggerated, don't you think. I see this type of behavior all the time in first time parents around here. A few of times later, you just get used to it. After all, it's better for the parents to be a bit worried, than not really care don't you think."

"Yeah, there is that." Sirius said with a far off look, thinking about his own mother who zapped his name off the Black tapestry just because he didn't agree with her point of view. "Though I am sure that's the last thing you would expect from my friends, however different they seem"

"Yes. The boy is an odd one, isn't he? In the two years I been working here, I never came across a baby that doesn't cry. The nurses named him _The-Boy-Who-Never-Cries_" Amy finished with a smile.

"NURSE!! SIRIUS!!" they heard James anxious voice blast through the nurse room intercom. "The baby girl just coughed, and she SPIT OUT. Something's wrong!!"

"…and it continues." Sirius said in a heavy voice, getting off the couch. Nurse Connolly smiled beside him as she too got up to go into the Potters ward.

ooo000ooo

The babies Potter were only in name twins, born through a shared womb. But their similarities ended right there. Abby was a loud child, with small tufts of red hair, and pasty complexion much similar to her mother. Her eyes were light grey, which was neither parents trait. "My fathers" Lily said with a smile looking into her daughters eyes.

Harry on the other hand, was a quiet child, choosing to look around his surroundings with his big bright green eyes. They were his mother's trait, along with his father's black hair. Unlike his sister, Harry never cried, be that out of hunger, or discomfort. It was almost as if the boy was quite content being with himself. He only showed any reaction when his sister seemed to be in discomfort, or it was time for a change. He really did not seem to like that.

If Lily forgot to feed him, he would still not make a peep. This added another fear to the new parents, that they may not notice when something goes wrong. Eventually, the pediatric Healer Clearwater came up with the solution for that. "You have a good indicator in his twin. Do unto him whatever you do to his sister. Feed him when you feed her, change him when you change her. That way you will not miss anything"

The new parents came back to their home after a week, and fell into the hard routine of taking care of their babies. After a month or so, the Potters threw a welcoming party in honor of their new children. They called all their friends, family members and acquaintances to the lavish party in the Potter's modest lawn. Many notable pureblooded families and important figures of wizarding world were at the party. The Potters may not be among the elite richest members of the wizarding world, but the name of Potter is well respected. Potters were from a long line of light sided pure blood family, and the seat in wizengamot does help add weight in social/political circles.

And so it was that, most of the renowned families of the wizarding world were present at Potter's residence. The Longbottoms, along with their matriarch, Augusta Longbottom, were proudly showing off their newest addition to their family - Neville, the heir apparent for Longbottom line. Also present were the Weasleys and Lovegoods of Ottery St. Catchpole, both families also with their little ones.

To everybody's surprise, Sirius showed up at the party with none other than Amy Connolly in hand.

"Hello Sirius. And Amy. It's good to see you… together" James greeted them with a smile, then turned from one to other, and asked his friend with a teasingly, "Is there something we need to know Sirius?"

"Nope. Absolutely nothing. Whatever gave you that idea?" Sirius replied with overly innocent expression that was very much out of place on the prankster's face.

"Oh Really? Nothing new? No new Quidditch games, Death Eaters caught, or pretty blonde girls holding onto your hand?"

"Oh that. Well see, I heard that you have a family gathering, with a lot of boring older people, parents and all. So I, in all my youthful energy, decided to graciously come along with my young and beautiful girlfriend Amy, to dazzle the party" Sirius finished with a proud smile and an arm around Amy.

Amy swatted him on his arm, saying, "Behave, Sirius" She turned to the Potters and said politely, "It's good to see you again Lily, and James"

"That is great news, Amy. Congratulations and welcome to our family" Lily said warmly, giving her a hug. "Don't mind these men. After spending as much time around them as I do, you tend to ignore the insensitive remarks they keep spewing out at the most inopportune moments" She finished giving a short glare to Sirius and James.

"Ouch" the men said cowering.

"Come on in, Amy. Let me introduce you around" Lily said tugging at her hand.

"Hey. Don't I get congratulated too? I did as much work as she did to get a girlfriend, you know" Sirius complained from the side.

Both the women gave him a long look that spoke volumes, before turning away, continuing their earlier conversation.

Sirius and James were left looking after the ladies, shaking their heads and saying, "Women"

The ladies of all the families quickly confiscated the couches in the living room, and formed a clique, each chatting at a mile a minute. Sirius and James made one visit into the living room, and decided not to come back until the party was over.

Through the evening, the Potters interacted with many old families, exchanging pleasantries and making promises for future encounters.

Halfway through the party, a lank figure in dark robes made way towards the new parents.

"Lily", he called softly.

The Potters turned around to find the man with greasy shoulder length hair framing a pale pasty face. Severus Snape came to visit his friend.

Lily's face brightened at seeing her friend, while James' face beside her turned sour.

"Severus. I am so happy you could make it. Good to see you here" Lily rushed over, gave him a hug.

"Congratulations, Lily. I am sure you will be a good mother" Severus replied. He turned to James, and gave him a curt nod with a short "Potter". His lip curled into a small sneer at seeing his childhood rival. The expression on his face and entire manner in which he stood shouted out that this was the last place he wanted to be at that moment.

"Snape", James gave a short nod, never losing the sour expression either.

Trying to head away any confrontation, Lily pulled Snape's arm saying, "Come Severus. Let me introduce you to my children." She dragged Snape to the cradle holding the two sleeping children. James made it to follow his wife, but one look from her stopped him on his tracks. With a sigh, he turned back to his other guests.

"These are my children, Severus. Abigail and Harry Potter" Lily told her friend with a proud smile.

Snape looked down at the children for a long moment, with a far away expression, and told Lily, "They are beautiful, Lily. They are really lucky to have you as their mother. Although I can not say much for their Father"

Lily chuckled swatting at his arm and said, "He is not that bad, Severus. He may be a little immature at times, but he is a good man and a good husband."

Snape gritted his teeth, before replying with a "Hmm"

There was a long pause with Snape was looking down at the children, while Lily studing her friend. Finally, she asked, "Why are you here, Severus? You never came to any gatherings I had organized since I started going out with James. You made up reasons not to come for the ones to which you were invited, but here you are, uninvited." She finished looking closely into her friends eyes.

Severus always was a private person. He had learnt to hide his true feelings from everyone, but his oldest friend could still read into his eyes like an open book. One of the many reasons Snape still held her in high regard. He had ever let one person into his true feelings, only to be passed over for the one person he loathed.

After a long moment, Snape turned to Lily, and said, "Be careful, Lily. And more then yourself, protect your children. The Dark Lord is taking unhealthy interest in your children, and I fear the worst"

The color left Lily's face as the words impacted her. She felt her stomach drop. "What do you mean Severus? Why would the Dark Lord have any interest in my family? My babies are not even a month old. What possible reason could there be? Tell me, Sev" she said quite anxiously, resorting to the name she used to call him by when they were children.

Snape sighed heavily, and said, "Lily, I am not sure if I am the right person to tell you this. But I refuse to sit on the side letting greater players scheme around you, knowing that you and yours may be in danger." He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Back in the winter, the dark lord received information that a child born at the end of this year's July would be instrumental in bringing him down. Your twins match the exact criteria" he finished solemnly.

"You mean a prophecy? A foretelling?" Lily asked, to which Snape nodded. "But Divination is very inaccurate at best and full of hot air isn't it? I mean, that was the reason you did not want me to take it in our third year, right?" Lily spoke quickly holding Snape's arm and turning him to face her.

Looking at Lily's anxious face Snape said, "It does not matter what you and I believe Lily. But if the Dark Lord holds it in regard, then we must be prepared"

Suddenly, another thought occurred to Lily, "How do you know this Sev? Maybe the person who gave this information was wrong. Maybe they misheard it, or maybe it does not apply to Abby and Harry at all"

Snape shook his head, saying, "It is not possible Lily. The information is accurate. Besides, you should ask Albus about the complete prophecy as soon as you can."

Lily seemed more troubled at this. She finally asked, "Why are you doing this, Sev? If the Dark Lord gets a word of what you did, he will kill you"

Snape seemed troubled at this. After a long pause, his face became more determined and he said, "It does not matter what happens to me Lily. I got you into this situation Lily. I gave this information to the Dark Lord. If anything happened to you, I can not live with myself knowing that I had the information which could have saved you, but never given it in time." He quickly added, "But you have to understand Lily, when I did this in the winter, I did not know that it would apply to you. I did not even know that you were pregnant at that time. You have to believe me Lily" Snape said in desperate voice.

Looking into his eyes, Lily could see clearly that he was telling the truth and struggling with the heavy weight on his conscience. All Lily could do was nod.

Snape continued, "You have to protect them Lily. Hide, Run, do whatever you can. But keep them safe. If one of your children really is the one mentioned in the prophecy, then they may very well be the last hope for our world. And I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep them… you… safe." He finished with a determined expression.

Before Lily could say anything more, James walked in. Looking at the ashen face of his wife, and a seemingly tight face of Snape, he quickly jumped to the obvious, but wrong conclusion. He exploded.

"I knew it was a mistake to leave you alone with my wife. What did you say, you bastard? I will not let you destroy our happy time", James finished pulling out his wand.

Snape's angry face lost whatever color was remaining as he too pulled out his wand saying, "Congratulations Potter. As slow as your mind ever has been, you are still as quick to jump to wrong conclusions as ever. Such Gryffindor bravado is what will one day cost you more than you can bear"

James tightened is lips and snarled out, "Get out of my house, Snape. Before I do something you will regret later"

Snape put his wand away and walked across. "With pleasure" he said, before turning to Lily, and in a softer tone said, "Let me know if you need me". He then walked out with a quick and powerful stride.

Sirius ambled across looking at the retreating back, turned to the couple now hugging each other and asked, "Was that Snivellus? What was he doing here?"

James held his wife tightly, replied, "Doing what he does the best. Ruining our happy time." He turned to Lily and asked, "Are you okay?"

Lily nodded slowly. She turned to the twins in the crib for long, and then looked around the room seeking one Albus Dumbledore. He wasn't at the party.

ooo000ooo

Two days after the welcoming party, in late afternoon, the Potters were found pacing in their living room, impatiently waiting for the arrival of Albus Dumbledore. On the side sat grim faced Sirius, staring into the fire.

After the party was over, Lily sat down with James, Sirius and Remus and told them what Severus had informed her during his visit. Nobody was really sure what to make out of the information. Sirius and James were quick to discount anything Snape had to say as being a lie. But Lily stood by her friend. She saw the terror in Snape's eyes, and she's convinced that Severus was telling the truth. In any case, it was unanimously agreed upon that, Dumbledore had a lot of explaining to do, if Severus' comment was taken into consideration. Next day morning, Lily sent an urgent owl to her former headmaster requesting that he meet them at his earliest convenience. Dumbledore agreed to come over that evening.

"What's taking him so long?" James asked for what seemed to be a hundredth time.

"It's only five minutes past the set time James. Settle down. You too Lily. It does not do for you two to be too worked up to think straight when the time comes." The tired but rational voice of Remus Lupin said from the side.

As if on thought, the fire turned green and Dumbledore stepped out calmly. He looked around the room to find four solemn faces staring back. Fearing something is wrong, he asked, "Messrs. Black, Lupin and Potter. Lily. I came as soon as I could after I received your owl. Is everything alright?"

James looked at his wife and replied. "That is what we are not sure of, Albus. And we need your help to ascertain the fact"

"Then I am at your service" Albus said with his arms open.

Lily took a deep breath and said, "Severus Snape visited us during our children's welcoming party."

Albus' eyes widened in surprise, and then his face immediately grew grave. He said "Ah. I suspected that he would. What, might I ask, has caused this current quandary?"

"He told me that Voldemort is taking an unhealthy interest in my children, and that they are in danger from him" Lily looked closely at Albus and added, "He said, it is due to a foretelling, that you heard last winter"

For a moment, Albus eyes twinkled in type of triumph or satisfaction. Immediately, they turned grave as he sighed heavily and made it to the nearest sofa. He sat heavily, looking up with unfocused eyes, as he seemed to be in a deep thought. Finally, he snapped out of it, and turned to the Potters.

"I knew this time would come. I had hoped it would be delayed, that it would not intrude into your happy time. But you can never discount what a man would do out of love for his friend"

He whistled a sharp note, which was immediately followed by a burst of fire in the Potter living room. A bright red and gold majestic bird that seemed to be bathed in fire itself materialized in front of their eyes. It let out a series of trills and whistles, which seemed to lighten the hearts of all the inhabitants of the room. Their souls were filled with joy and hope as they felt the magic of the song wash over them.

Dumbledore smiled at the phoenix, and said, "Thank you, my old friend. You always know the right thing to say" He then proceeded to whisper to the bird, which disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

In a flash of another fire, an old stone basin appeared on the coffee table between the occupants. It was covered in some sort of runes, and was empty. Judging by the lack of dust, the occupants guessed that whatever this artifact is, Dumbledore used it quite regularly.

Dumbledore's looked around the occupants once more, and in a very grave voice, much different from the warmth everybody was used to, said, "What I am about to say now, is by far the most important piece of information pertinent to the current war effort. It is of type that the enemy would resort to any means in order to attain. As such, I must ask only the Potters to hear this." He finished looking with grave intensity at Sirius and Remus.

They shuffled on their feet, before Sirius replied a bit disgruntled, "we are not backstabbers, Professor. When it comes to the matter of our friends, and their safety, we are willing to even lay down our lives to protect each other."

Albus face broke into a smile, and replied, "I know Mr. Black, and Mr. Lupin. I know the devotion you have for your friends even during these hard times. And that is one of the many reasons I place you and your small group of friends in the highest regard. But you must understand that this is information that can change the direction of war. As such, if the Potters choose to share it with you at a later point of time, it is up to their discretion."

"We understand Albus" Remus said placidly, while pulling Sirius by his arm.

Albus waited for them to leave, while he constructed a small privacy ward around them.

"What is it Albus? Why so much secrecy?" James asked anxiously.

Albus turned to Lily and said, "Mrs. Potter, You must tell me everything Severus told you, so that I can explain things accurately"

Lily briefly told him what Snape had told her during the party. Albus gravely nodded corroborating the fact that whatever Snape had told was indeed correct. Albus was collecting his thoughts trying to find the right beginning point for his explanation, when James asked,

"What I would like to know is how Severus came across this information, and why he chose to come to Lily with it. Why not go to you, Albus?"

One Look at Lily told Albus that she indeed knew the reason, but it would seem she did not tell her husband.

Albus said, "That is an answer you are not ready to hear yet, James. As such, everything Severus said is accurate. Towards the end of winter, I did come across a descendent of a celebrated seer, who prophesized that at the end of July, a child would be born with an immense responsibility of not just vanquishing a Dark Lord, but something else which even I do not understand correctly at this moment"

"That is the reason you came to St. Mungo's when Neville was born, and remained for the birth of our children" James said shrewdly.

"That is correct James. Based on the information in the prophecy, I calculated that the date would be July 31st. When Neville was born on July 30th, I thought I had miscalculated the time, and he was the chosen one, as no one else that I know of was due for the next day. You must understand that interpreting a prophecy is a very tricky thing indeed. Every time it is looked at in a different context, the meaning would appear differently."

"I gave birth prematurely" Lily said in a small voice.

Albus nodded, "On July 31st. I was indeed skeptical whether the prophecy applies to one of your twins or not. But judging by the magical core of young Abigail, I have very little doubt about it"

"What do you mean Albus?" James asked.

"You see. What I said to you that day about the size of Abigail's magical core is not completely accurate. Her core is far greater than the size I quoted that day. You have to understand that the size of the magical core I perceived in Abigail is not by any means a normal occurrence. With right type of guidance, I do not have any doubts that one day she will be at least as powerful as me."

Both Potters seem quite flabbergasted at this. Their daughter being as powerful as Dumbledore? It is a well known fact that Dumbledore was the most powerful mage of their current time. He was the one wizard whom even Voldemort was afraid to confront. To be as powerful as him was really something.

Dumbledore, in the meantime, had placed his wand on his temple, and pulled out a long silvery thread like substance from within his head, and dropped it into the stone basin.

He turned to the Potters and said, "You have to understand that I am very reluctant to share this information with you. Partly because of the risk involved, but mostly because, I did not want to place this burden on you during your happy times. Being a parent is one of the most exhilarating experiences one can ever have. I did not want to intrude into this."

"But the danger is no less if what you say is true, isn't it Albus?" Lily said with a fearful voice.

"Indeed Mrs. Potter. That is the reason I chose to be a passive protector. I had strengthened some of the wards around your property here, as much as I can without the owner's permission at least, and I requested the usual auror patrol in Godric's Hollow to be increased. You can think of this as an old man's paranoia, but having lived for over a century, I have seen enough bad things happen to good people. I can not take chance of any such thing happen to the one chosen for saving our wizarding world."

"But how can you be sure that it is one of my twins Albus?" James asked with hopeful voice, "It may not be. There are so many children born outside of St. Mungo's in the world. It may be any one of those kids"

Albus solemnly said, "It is time you hear the prophecy in its fullest. But I must ask you not to share this with anyone until some more facts are ascertained. I know the deep bond you share with your friends, but I must ask you not to share this with even your friends" Albus lifted his hand up to stop the Potters protest, "I know that you trust them, but I do not want them to be placed under any more danger than they already are by having them know this information. Besides, I have received information from a trusted source that there is a spy in our midst, someone most trusted within the ranks of the Order of Phoenix, and I do not want this to leak out until the spy is caught."

Lily looked intensely at Albus and asked, "Severus is your spy, isn't he?"

Albus nodded gravely and said, "Severus conveyed this information to me at great risk to himself, and I ask you to respect his sacrifice"

The Potters just nodded. Albus touched the silvery liquid in the stone basin and a translucent figure rose up from the liquid. It talked in a raspy, harsh voice,

"THE ONE TO VANQUISH THE DARK CONDUIT OF MAGIC APPROACHES…. BORN ON THE THIRD DAY OF THE THIRD PHASE IN THE SEVENTH CYCLE OF EARTHLY MOON…. BORN IN THE LINE OF THE MAGIC'S GIFT BEARER…. MAGUS EMISSARIUS FOR THE SECOND AGE APPROACHES…. AS THE HOLDER OF HALLOWS…. THE DEVOUT SOUL SHALL BE THE BALANCE OF THIS WORLD…. BUT HEED THIS WARNING…. AID TO AID EQUALITY, OR JUDGE TO BE JUDGED FOR EXISTENCE…. ONE TO VANQUISH THE DARK CONDUIT OF MAGIC APPORACHES"

The Potters looked up at Dumbledore with confusion. Finally, Lily said, "I do not understand Albus. How did you conclude that this applies to my children?"

Albus said, "The time mentioned in the prophecy happens to be July 31st for this year. But the most important fact is to do with the Hallows, and Magic's Gift"

"Hallows?"

"The Deathly Hallows." Albus said grimly. He had hoped that he would not hear the Hallows being mentioned ever again. But it would not seem so. He sighed heavily, as he continued, "It's been told that the Peverell brothers of Godric's Hollow were given gifts by the death itself. Three gifts that became the most sort after by many in the world, greedy for the power they promise. Power that can be used to rule or use it for the greater good" Albus replied with a far away look.

"The Hallows are, a wand, whose bearer is told to never lose a duel. It also goes by the name Deathstick and Wand of Destiny, if you ever heard of them. The resurrection stone, which can bring back the dead, and finally, a cloak that hides the wearer in complete invisibility, even from the death itself."

James seemed to get the relevance of this discussion suddenly as he sucked in air, and said in a voice that seemed begging to prove him wrong, "My invisibility cloak?"

Albus nodded slowly as he said, "Total Invisibility is a myth that could never be achieved as much as many had tried. Even the regular invisibility cloaks sold are made from demiguise hide, or strong disillusionment charms provides the wearer with a partial invisibility. That too is known to diminish with time. I was very surprised when you told me that day at hospital that your cloak is still active. I was even more surprised that it is your family heirloom. Do you know more about how your family came across this cloak?" Albus asked James.

"No. It had always been in the Potter family and before that the Trescott family. Even the journals of the members of that old family talked about the invisibility cloak at times. My father had studied them, trying to come up with the genealogy of Potters."

Albus nodded his head gravely. "This, I believe proves my suspicion that this indeed is one of the Deathly Hallows mentioned in the legend." Albus raised his hand and said, "Before you contradict, I must say that the story of Deathly Hallows may be a inaccurate, but their existence is not inaccurate, for I know for sure where one of the Hallows is" Albus did not elaborate much on this, but Potters did not notice. They have their own problems to think about.

"Ok Albus. Let us say that James' cloak is one of the Hallows you mentioned. But the prophecy talks about the gifts given by Magic. Not the Death, as the legend of Peverells go."

"Ah, a shrewd observation Mrs. Potter. I thought about this long enough, until I remembered some early druid writings that investigated death in detail. They believed that all beings are created by Magic itself, and once dead, return back to the Magic. So, the gifts given by death were in actuality gifts given by Magic itself"

Albus continued, "Putting together all these distinct pieces of information, the time of their birth, the Hallows, your invisibility cloak, Potters being of Godric's Hollow forever, I come to only conclusion that you are the descendents of Peverells, and the one mentioned in the prophecy indeed is one of your twins. Also, judging by the size of Abigail's magical core, I suspect it is she."

Albus sat quiet giving the Potters time to collect their thoughts.

Finally, after a long time, James asked all the questions going around in his mind, "What of other things mentioned in the prophecy? What is Magus Emissarius? And what is it about Aid, and Judgment, and what not?" he asked quietly.

Albus replied heavily, "I do not know what it means at this moment. But rest assured, I had been researching into what it could mean. Prophecies are very tricky to comprehend. The most devious nature of a prophecy is that, it becomes true only when people choose to believe in them. Since the specific time is not mentioned, and judging by the horrible nature of it, I had hoped this would not apply to our current time at all. But the Dark Lord seems to think otherwise."

"So he believes in this?" James asked fearfully.

Albus nodded his head as he said, "And so must we. He does not know the entire prophecy. Only the first part that talks about when the chosen one is born. We must ensure that it remains the same way. But that is a job I need to ensure of."

"What do we do now Albus?" Lily asked finally, the question that plagued the Potter couple's troubled mind

"Protect the little ones, and be safe. That is more important than anything else at this time. If all we think is true, then young Abigail might be the only hope for our world's future" Albus said grimly.

"That is what Severus said too." Lily spoke in quiet voice.

"He did?" James said in surprise. At that moment, James Potter saw Severus Snape in a new light for the first time.

"And wisely spoken, I must say. I am happy to hear that his outlook has changed" Albus said with a twinkle in his eye. He seemed satisfied with himself that his trust in the newest spy does not seem misplaced.

Finally, at the end of the visit, Albus warned the Potters, "I must ask you to use your discretion while sharing this information. More than your trust, this will put the bearer in more harm than you might imagine just by knowing"

He bid farewell with a heavy heart, leaving the terrified couple behind.

ooo000ooo

The Potters sat together with their friends Sirius and Remus, and gave a very abridged version of their conversation with Dumbledore. Heeding Dumbledore's advice, they decided to keep the contents of the prophecy a secret from their closest friends also. They did not want to put their friends in more danger by giving the information they know the enemy is seeking. It is now one month after Albus' visit to the Potters. In the last month, they had upgraded the wards around the Potter residence. Sirius even accessed his Black fortune to get some very advanced wards to protect their friends place. All the friends, including Amy, chose to spend time at Potters place whenever they can.

The babies on the other hand were flourishing happily and growing up healthy. Harry was still quiet as ever. No adult had ever heard Harry cry. He just chose to study the world with his protuberant green eyes. He just got very frisky and shuffled around when it was time to change. He really did not seem to like being unclean.

Abigail on the other hand was as loud as ever. She made sure that the adults around knew exactly what she needed, and how she felt. She was quite normal in that respect. Except for a few times when she seemed inconsolable, only to quiet down by the mere touch of her brother, she was a happy child. Even after a number of visits, neither Healer Clearwater, nor Healer Tonks could still explain the odd behavior of the babies. They just chose to conclude that this may be their usual behavior, and wait for them to grow up. Maybe they will show more attributes to explain their behavior. In any case, everybody, including Amy, was quite taken with the children.

That day, the final and fourth member of the Marauders was coming back from his long visit abroad. Peter Pettigrew told his friends that he was visiting his distant relatives in mainland Europe, before disappearing last summer. Peter came to the Potter household to find a number of surprising things. Peter had to be led into the strong wards around the Potter house, and more surprisingly, Sirius now had a girlfriend.

While the friends were sitting in the living room, Lily brought out the twins in their baby baskets.

"These, Peter, are our children. Abigail and Harry Potter" James announced proudly.

Peter's face broke into a grin looking at the scene. He said, "Why, James, I didn't know you had it in to father one, but you father two at the same time?" he finished with a laugh.

"My thoughts exactly" Sirius put in from the side, earning a swat from his girlfriend.

"Hey. No teasing my husband. He is good enough for me" Lily defended her husband, who was now wearing smug expression. "as surprising as it might seem" she added. The smug expression fell away from James face replaced with a sulky one, as the rest broke out laughing.

Peter approached the babies, and seemed quite apprehensive to touch them.

"Go on. They don't bite" Lily encouraged her friend. Remus put in from the side, "Much", which got an expression of horror on Peter's face.

Laughingly, Lily picked up Abby and passed her to Peter. Gingerly, Peter took the young girl into his hands as she seemed to look at Peter innocently waving her small stubby hands around.

Behind them, Harry woke up from his sleep with a start and began shuffling around in his basket. He began whimpering and struggling with some unseen force.

"Hey, hey. What's wrong with you little guy?" Amy was the first to notice the baby's discomfort as she approached Harry's basket.

Lily turned around and walked over to her son. She lifted him and checked him. "He usually gets a bit like this when its time to clean. But he's clean. I don't understand why he is cranky suddenly". She lifted him and began rocking. That did not seem to settle him down. If any, he got even more struggling.

Peter looked on, as he held Abby in his arms, "Is he normally like that?" He asked James.

Remus chuckled beside James and said, "This is the most crankier we have ever seen him be. He usually doesn't even cry"

"Maybe he realized that his Uncle Peter is here and wants to meet him" Sirius said with a smile.

"Maybe" James said as he came over, and took Abby from his hands.

That instant, the difference in Harry's behavior was stark. He immediately settled down in his mother's arms looking intently at Peter.

The adults just raised their eyebrow at the suddenly quiet boy. Lily walked over to the group with Harry in arms.

"Good. He's settled in now. Maybe the basket was uncomfortable." She mumbled.

"Wanna hold him Peter?" Lily asked her friend.

"Sure" Peter approached her, and took the baby boy in his arms. That was when the proverbial shit hit the fan.

Harry began crying, if it can ever be called crying. He began wailing like his entire body was itching. His face turned red and fists held tight, flailing his little arms and legs around. It was as if he wanted to get away from something that was causing him a great discomfort. At that time, Harry proved that Abby was not the only one with a loud mouth. He seemed so emotionally distressed that magical sparks flew around his body. Most of the sparks seem to fall on Peter who was holding him, and thus the closest.

Peter stood there with the struggling baby in his arms and a gob smacked expression on his face. The other adults in the room were equally surprised at the boy's behavior, who was normally very quiet. This was the very first time young Harry ever cried. And cry he did with an intensity of a hurricane.

Lily being the closest to Peter quickly grabbed her son from the arms of her friend with a terrified expression.

Immediately, the boy quieted down. It was almost as if a switch was turned off within him. As the boy settled into his mother's arms, his skin reduced in redness, giving way to the usual fair complexion. His eyes were still wide and looking almost fearfully at Peter.

"What happened?" Sirius asked almost fearfully. Being the only nurse, as well as having medical experience, everyone turned to Amy. She seemed equally startled as others, as she approached the baby boy.

"Just another wierdity called Harry Potter" She mumbled as she hesitated, and took him from Lily's arms. Harry did not seem to mind the shift.

Amy spent the next few minutes checking over the baby, but could not find anything wrong with him.

Finally she shrugged, and said, "I have no idea. But just in case, take him to Healer Clearwater tomorrow." She advised Lily.

Finally, everybody settled down, and Peter approached the babies again. But as he got closer, Harry began to get unsettled again. When he put a hand on Harry's head, Harry began crying again. Peter pulled his hand back quickly, only to find Harry quiet down.

Peter looked at his hand, as Remus concluded, "Looks like Harry doesn't like you Peter."

Others nodded seeing that the boy seemed flinching away from Peter. It was almost like he was scared that Peter would harm him.

"It will pass off. Just give him some time to get used to you" Lily said confidently. But no one could forget the extreme reaction Harry showed when he was held by Peter.

"Yes. Maybe" Peter however seemed thoughtful.

After sometime, Lily put the babies in the nursery and came back and they all sat for the dinner. Lily had made a feast for the private gathering of everyone she considered family. They chatted amiably around the table, until Sirius finally made an announcement.

Peter was having a sip of water, when Sirius said, "Amy and I are getting married". Peter choked. He was not the only one to spit out a mouthful as Remus also began coughing.

"That's great news Sirius, and Amy. Congratulations. Now you are really part of our family" Lily said with a smile.

"Wow Sirius. I never thought you would turn into an honest man, and get settled. For some reason I thought you would just be jumping around from place to place. What gives?" James said with a grin.

Lily sighed, and looked at Amy almost apologetically. "Insensitive remarks, right. Got it. I never thought I would say this, but I think even I am getting used to those" Amy said with a smile and shaking her head.

Sirius mumbled something under his breath in reply to what James asked.

"What's that?" Peter asked. Judging by the horrifically surprised expression on Remus' face, he heard whatever Sirius said. Probably the werewolf enhanced hearing, Peter thought

"I said, Amy is pregnant" Sirius said a bit loudly.

This time almost every one spit out what they had in their mouths. Amy on the other hand had a blissful expression on her face.

"And he talks about whether I had it in me or not", James mumbled.

"What I would like to know is how Sirius reacted to that piece of news. Oh, what I would give to have seen his face at that moment" Remus said with an amused expression.

Sirius mumbled something again, as his face grew red from all the attention. Amy came to his rescue, when she said, "He took it rather well, I should say. I kind of thought he would freak out. Well, he did, but only a little. He recovered fairly quickly, and proposed to me then"

"Hey, I am right here you know. Stop talking about me like I am not here" Sirius whined from beside Amy. Naturally, everybody ignored him.

"Oooh, That must have been romantic" Lily said with a smile, while the men in the group looked at her with an open mouth.

"In its own rather unique way" Amy replied.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Well." Amy replied, "Five minutes after he heard the news, my romantic boyfriend here gets all thoughtful, and says, I quote, Lets get hitched Amy. That was his proposal" she finished with a smile.

"He didn't" Lily said horrified. But looking at the Sirius' red face and amused expression on Amy's, he really did.

"At least he did the right thing" Remus commented from the side with a smile.

"What did you expect me to do? Abandon her? That's what the pureblooded Blacks would do. But fortunately, I am the blood traitor, remember" Sirius said with a smile.

"Your dear old mother would be turning in her grave, seeing how noble you have become Sirius" James said with a chuckle.

Sirius just scoffed at that comment.

After the dinner, they relocated to the living room, enjoying a cup of after dinner tea. After there had been a lull in conversation, Peter asked, "James, I noticed that there are many new wards around your house than when I was here last time. Why did you upgrade?"

This brought a grim mood among all the occupants. Peter looked around with a frown.

"It's for security of the twins, Peter. Things have changed a bit." James said slowly.

"Security? What things?" Peter asked leaning forward

Lily and James launched into a quick and brief explanation of their conversation with their former headmaster.

"… and Albus thinks one of the twins, probably Abby, may be the chosen child born to vanquish the dark lord. So, to keep her and her brother safe, we upgraded the wards around the house" James finished.

Judging by the pale face, Peter was pretty terrified. It took another cup of tea for him to settle down enough to think straight. Peter was after all, the weakest in the group, choosing remain under the protection of his stronger friends.

"So, Little Abby is going to grow up to be the savior of our world?" Peter asked slowly

"Probably. That's what Albus believes. But Peter, this is information that could get you in trouble. Keep it safe and don't talk about it with anyone other than the people in this room. According to Dumbledore, the Voldemort still doesn't know who the chosen one is and is still searching high and low for information. Don't let it slip", James told his friend.

Peter nodded weakly, thoroughly disturbed.

Except for the solemn discussion, the gathering was quite enjoyable for everyone. Peter went away from the Potter house with a lot of new things on mind.

* * *

(A/N) Notice how the mistake about the identity of the chosen one is made. Albus suspects, but is still open for change. Potters agree with that, but lean more towards Abby than Harry because of Albus' suspicion. Peter hears that either child could be the chosen one, but is almost certain that Abby is because of the way James puts it. Now when he goes to the Dark Lord, guess what he tells him.

(A/N2) All you Snape lovers out there, before you rejoice that Snape is good in this story, let me tell you right now. I have not decided whether he is good or evil. I still stand by what Aberforth said in last chapter. He will do what is safe for his love, but will he do what is right for the light? Even in the Book 7, I was not convinced whether Snape is good or bad. He did whatever good he did only for Lily, and Lily's son (to some extant) because Lily is dead because of his tattling. Notice that after the death of Dumbledore at the end of HBP, Snape did not do anything for light side, and stood by the dark lord's side till his death.

(A/N 3) someone pointed out that with Luna bumped up by a year, Ginny would be lonely. So, I gave Sirius-Amy couple a child of their own. My reasoning is that, it is like chaos theory. Just by virtue of Potters having twins, rather than just one child, Sirius had to be in the hospital to help out, thus met Amy, thus getting married, and now is about to have a baby.

(A/N 4) A heads up.. I plan on Potters having another child after a few chapters/years. One might ask why so many babies thrown around the story. They are important because they help in Harry's new Character development. The way he interacts with them, and the way they interact back, has a huge impact on Harry's way of thinking, which is all the more important… The real fireworks in the story begin when Harry is a bit older.. say when he's 6-7 years? evil grin

Enough rambling from me now.. but you people out there having fun reading this… Please Review.. Your thoughts are most welcome.


	5. Chapter 5: Difficult Times to live

(A/N) Thanks to all the people who take time to read through my story, and review it.

A special Thanks to **David305**. You are correct. English is not my first language. Neither is it my second language. But I love the English literature more than other languages'. Besides, living in an English speaking country for the last six years has its effect as well.

Aside from that, your review helped me figure out many mistakes I didn't know I was making. I tried to not make them in this chapter. I thank you for your input.

**Request:** As I write the story, I tend to get carried away with the moment, and some very complicated and twisted sentences (convoluted grammar) tends to roll in. To keep me on check, and to push me in the right direction, I want to ask if any of you readers are ready to be a **beta-reader** for this story. Volunteers are welcome to contact me.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Difficult Times to live**

As the merry months of summer gave way to the colder, danker times of winter, the attacks by Voldemort's minions intensified. It was not uncommon for people to open their copies of daily prophet, and read many accounts of attacks, numerous sightings of Dark Mark in just the last one day. The Ministry of Magic was hard pressed to control all the dark activity reported each day. The Auror forces deployed for the protection of general populace was proving insufficient. As such, with stringent laws and harsh punishments bestowed upon those few dark wizards caught, reduced the chance for any major attacks on Magical communities. But, the raids on non-magical beings (Muggles) could not be contained. Limited Auror corps could not be deployed to protect both wizarding world as well as muggle world.

Even the climate was far colder than what was expected at that time of the year. It seemed as though the cruelty and evil of the world seeped into the climate, and was now taking its perverse pleasure in tormenting the humanity.

In the highlands of Scotland, Hogwarts saw the snow very early that year. By the time the month of December began, the lands were completely covered with thick snow, and the lake beside the castle was frozen over. Miles and miles of snow stretched around Hogwarts, as far as the human eye could see. Hogwarts truly was a sight to behold when covered with pure white snow.

Many members of the school rejoiced at seeing the snow early. It was not uncommon for one to find the students playing in the snow during the evenings, before retiring to the snug warmth that the Hogwarts provided for its inhabitants.

On that particular night, a man covered in a black travelers cloak made his way into the school, wading through the thick snow quickly. As soon as he stepped out of the snow, and into the castle's entranceway, he broke into a brisk walk. The Potions Master of Hogwarts, Severus Snape, was in a hurry to meet his second master. His powerful gait, with his robes billowing behind him, did not slow down even as he passed a couple of students out of their bed past curfew. This rarely happened that the head of Slytherin house would pass by a couple of Gryffindor miscreants, without punishing them. A small frown on his forehead and sallow pallor on his usually expressionless face were the only indication of how disturbed he was inside.

As soon as he came close to the hideous gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office, he spit out the words _"Fizzing Whizbee"_. The sentient guard, the gargoyle, jumped aside revealing a staircase that was moving upwards. Snape jumped on and took the stairs up two at a time. He was now a far cry from the man who just walked through the school with an expressionless mask. He banged on the door of the Headmaster, and burst into the office even before being let in.

Albus Dumbledore was at his desk hunched over some papers. He was startled and looked up as the highly agitated man burst into the office. One look at the absolute terror filled face of Severus was enough to rattle Albus to his core. With the information Severus had drudged up from the dark side, Albus and his faithful Order of Phoenix were able to fend off at least few attacks made on the most influential members of the wizarding world. Fearing something very serious has happened, Albus was about to ask him, when Severus said the words he least wanted to hear.

"He knows" Severus blurted out.

The color on Albus' face drained as he considered the implications of the short message his spy had gotten him.

"You have to do something, Albus. He knows that you believe the 'Chosen one' to be one of Lily's. With his own research and your suspicions, he is convinced it is one of the twins. We have to do something" Severus said agitatedly.

"Calm Down, Severus" Albus said with his hands up in a placating manner. "Sit down"

Severus came over and sat heavily on one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk.

Dumbledore, in the meantime, shuffled around in one of his desk drawers, and pulled out a vial filled with a clear purple potion. He passed it over to Severus, who took it without a word and drank the contents.

The Calming draught took an immediate effect as the color returned back to Severus' face. He took a couple of deep breaths before he nodded to Albus, indicating that he was alright.

"Now Severus, tell me everything that has transpired at your meeting with Tom" Albus asked.

"The Dark Lord summoned his inner circle to his side today. He said, he received information from his source on the light side that you suspect one of the Potter twins to be the chosen one mentioned in the prophecy. He wanted us to gather all the information we could collect on the Potters."

Albus nodded his head gravely as he put his hands together. "I suspect this is the work of the elusive spy in our ranks of the Order. Did he mention which twin he is more inclined towards being the 'Chosen One'?"

Severus shook his head as he said, "The Dark Lord never gives all the information he has to everyone. However high up in the ranks we are, he sets a specific task for each of us, and gives us only the information needed to perform the task."

"Ah. The perfect Slytherin, as my old friend Alphred had once told me. He does not put his trust in any one individual. Even the most faithful followers, are just his followers, and never advisors. This is something you must be weary about each time you go into his presence, Severus" Albus advised his spy.

Severus nodded his head, as he asked Albus, "What are you going to do about the safety of Lily and her children, Albus? Once the Dark Lord gets any good intelligence about the Potters, I am sure that he will not hesitate to cause them harm"

"I know, Severus. However, it is good news that he does not suspect any particular child. I shall convey this grave tiding to them as soon as I can. The Potters are surrounded by their faithful friends almost all the time these days. They helped put up some very advanced wards around the Potters property. I have to say, even I was impressed with the extant of those wards. I believe they are well protected for now"

"But can their 'faithful friends' be trusted not to betray?" always a Slytherin, Snape asked with a sneer.

"They have a very close relation, Severus. With what I know, and things you just confirmed, I do not see a reason to mistrust anybody in their group. I only hope they know what they are getting into by being so closely associated with the Potters"

ooo000ooo

"You have no idea what you are getting yourself into, by being so close to us, Sirius" James almost shouted at his friend.

"I know, and I am prepared for it" Sirius stood his ground firmly.

Sirius and Amy got married in the fall of that year. With her muggle upbringing, Amy did not appreciate the extravagant wedding expected from a pureblooded heir of the Ancient and Noble house of Black. So, she asked for a quiet wedding. Sirius, being as chivalrous as he was, readily dumped his legacy and opted for a small wedding ceremony on a boat. He arranged the wedding to take place on a boat afloat Loch Shiel. How he arranged it, no one asked, nor did he say. But all the guests were quite enthralled by the scenic beauty the loch offered in the Highlands of Scotland.

After the marriage, Sirius and Amy lived in the ancestral Black house at Grimmauld Place for only a couple of months, before Sirius bought a property in Godric's Hollow, right in front of the Potters Home. Sirius reasoned that with Amy being pregnant, and Lily not have begun working yet, it's a good idea for each to be close to someone they trust. Besides, he argued that staying so close to the twins would be an added protection.

Needless to say, James was not very happy for the very same reason. He said, any danger to the twins would now put Amy and their unborn child also in danger. But Sirius disagreed. The argument had been raging for a good part of the evening. After trying to take one side or the other, Lily and Amy left the arguing men and retired to the kitchen.

At the end of the evening, James grudgingly agreed that having his friend so close by would be a good thing. Besides, the property Blacks bought came along with a Quidditch pitch, which was the final word said between the friends. And so, the newly wed Black couple moved into their new house in Godric's Hollow late in December that year.

ooo000ooo

Being cooped up in the Potter's House all the time, Lily and the Abby were getting crankier by the day. Lily especially, only had Amy to visit, and she just has to cross the road in front of her house to reach Amy. At times, Lily would visit her friend Alice, leaving the twins with Amy. But as long as she was away, her mind was always with her children at home, and so could not enjoy her visitation. Besides, the temperamental attitude Abby was developing did not help her much. This was felt the most by James. He being close at hand, Lily often took her frustrations on him. Finally, rather than driven spare by his wife as well as his daughter, James took Amy's advice and took to having family outings every couple of days. Any small trip needed, be that to the grocers or to the convenience store, the entire family would go, thus giving a change of air to the new-mother as well as the newborns. The peace and sanity in the Potter's house prevailed for some more time.

This, however, did not go unnoticed to the spies of the Dark Lord. They noted with spite the carefree happiness the Potter exuded on their family outings. They noted and they conspired. It all eventually came to head on the late Friday afternoon at the end of February.

The Potters stepped out into the Stranghorn's Way, the wizarding shopping alley closest to Godric's Hollow. Lily had to restock her Potions ingredients. Having been instructed in the exact art of Potion making from the Half-blood Prince himself, Lily was a skillful potions maker. Severus had been very keen on ensuring that Lily learnt the art as best as she could. He told her that the Potion Making was the branch of Magical studies that offered the most deterministic results. Ingredients with specific properties mixed in a specific order always yielded the same result. Also, it would give an exact same effect when used. Besides, the vast array of options Potion Making offered has its own allure.

Lily wanted to be prepared with all types of potions she might need, with two infants at home. It starts with restocking the ingredients, for which she was now shopping in company of her family at that moment. She was holding the ever-quiet Harry, while James beside her was holding Abby, who was for once also quiet. Both the children were looking around the world in innocent wonder as they took in the sights the alley offered.

"Come on, James. It's not that bad in the apothecary" Lily said with amusement.

"Are you joking, Lily? That place creeps me out. It's almost like I am back in Hogwarts' dungeon classroom for Potions. If I never step into a potion making room or apothecary, it will be too soon", James replied with a shudder.

"Oh James! You can not possibly say that about Potion Making. It is a very precise art. You can but marvel at the way subtle magiks in each ingredient mix and mutate to form different magiks, that are ready for further mutation. It's almost like seeing the evolution speeding –"

"I know, Lily" James interrupted. "I know you learnt how to appreciate Potion making from Snape. But one person appreciating it in a family should be enough, don't you think?" James finished desperately.

Lily shook her head bemusedly, as she turned towards the apothecary with Little Harry in her hands. He was staring around with marvel in his bright green eyes.

"Besides, Abby and I have a lot more to explore in the alley, isn't it Abby dear?" James said seating his daughter on his arm more comfortably. The little girl was happily gargling, waving her little stubby hands around. James looked at where she was pointing with her waving hands and found that there was a stylish robes and accessories store called _"Beauty & I"_, with colorful displays in the front window.

"Now, now, Abby. I am sure you will bankrupt me by going to those types of stores when you are older. But, do you have to start so young?" James talked playfully with his daughter.

Lily heard that and laughed out loud as she made way into the apothecary.

Half an hour later, the family was making their way to the edge of the alley where the road to Godric's Hollow started, when the first vestiges of trouble made way.

Six wizards in dark robes, and faces covered in silvery-white masks apparated right in the middle of the road. Death Eaters have finally found the Potters. Immediately, people closest to them began running away from them. Two of the Death Eaters on the back immediately began waving their wands in an intricate pattern that the Potters recognized as the beginnings of an anti-apparation wards.

Quickly Lily fiddled around her neck to find the emergency portkey she always carried. But by the time she pulled it out and jammed it into James' exposed forearm, the anti-portkey wards were also up. The couple felt the beginnings of a portkey travel with a pull at their navel. But they were immediately slammed back to the place they began from.

The Sheer terror of feeling their family in danger drove them into shock induced inactivity. In the meantime, the Death Eaters walked across the road towards the Potters with their wands raised.

"The Dark Lord sends his regard, Mr. & Mrs. Potter" the Lead Death Eater said, all too calmly.

James shifted Abbey to a more comfortable position, and pulled his wand out. Lily was still clinging to James' forearm with Harry in her other arm.

"You will not harm my family while I am standing" James said taking a step ahead, so that Lily was a little behind him.

"You think you stand a chance against six of us? As great as the Auror training is, I am sure you remember the first rule of combat they teach at the academy" The Death Eater said almost mockingly.

Sure enough, the very first rule of combat Aurors are taught was, _"When out numbered, flee"_. After all, however heroically one fights and dies, one is still dead, while if they had fled, they would be alive to fight another day. But as James saw around, there was no way to flee. They were seriously outnumbered, with two infants, who needed constant and utmost protection. There were six people blocking his way in the front, while the shimmering anti-magical-travel ward stretched back a lot further into the alley. There was no way they could make it out of the ward covered area without being hit. They were totally trapped.

But James refused to accept defeat. Even against such bad odds, he knew that his family needed to be protected, and he was willing to lay his life to protect them. With that thought, a grim resolve crawled through his entire body, and his magic singed in his veins, ready to spring up when commanded.

The six Death Eaters pointed their wands at James and Lily, and fired out an assortment of hexes and curses. James immediately brought up the shield, as he cried out _"Protego"_

Six spells hit the solid shield in front of the Potters. The impact was powerful enough to cause him to take a step back. But he held his ground. He felt the shield get overloaded and begin to collapse. It barely held before it disappeared completely. James had to duck in order not to get hit by the three hexes that came through.

The Magical byplay disturbed Abby thoroughly as she began crying out of terror. James could feel her magic agitated causing a tingling sensation on his forearm. The tingle was so strong that even Lily could feel it, who was still holding James' forearm with their emergency portkey still held tightly, now worthless.

The Potters looked at each other fearfully. They knew that unless they fight back, the twins stood no chance of seeing their first birthday. They have to fight the death eaters, not to save their own lives, but to save their children's. But when the couple looked into each others eyes, they found the same thing. The fear and despair of a person who knew there was no escape.

As soon as the death eaters began surrounding them, their minds were muddled with fear. But the conclusion of inevitability slowly cleared their minds, and the rational processing of situation took over. They knew they were not going to leave this square unscathed. Probably not even alive. But they knew that they are not going to let the death eaters harm their children. Their most precious.

With this grim thought came a determination to not let their precious be harmed. With determination came the courage to attempt what they knew would be suicidal. Courage to save their precious in the face of the overwhelming odds. And being aurors has a few advantages when it comes to fighting.

Lily looked around at the Death Eaters, checking for weaknesses. They were slowly spreading out, around them in all directions trying to surround them completely. She slowly took a step back. She saw James taking a step back along. She saw that the death eater on their right side, who stood in front of _"Beauty & I"_ was short and skinny. She hoped he was magically the weakest as well.

Lily pulled her wand out, as she moved closer to James, who had his wand pointed at the lead Death Eater who had been talking earlier. Lily stood very close to James, and put her wand arm on her husband's waist. She held her wand tightly in her white knuckled hand.

She whispered to James, "Duck when I say".

She carefully noted the angle to her selected target, and whispered harshly, "Duck".

James dropped his wand, gripped Abby tightly, and bent down to his knees. At that moment, Lily took an aim, and cried out, _"Reducto"_ at the skinny wizard.

Nobody accused the Death Eaters to be fast on their feet. The skinny wizard only had time to widen his eyes as the spell slammed into his chest. His upper torso exploded in a shower of blood and gore.

Lily tugged at James arm, as she pulled Harry into her chest shielding him away from the remaining Death Eaters. "Come on, James. This way." She cried out, running towards the garbage bin on the sidewalk.

The remaining Death Eaters shook out of their shock, as they began throwing assortment of spells at the family.

James had a Shield up, and was trying to deflect any spell coming towards them, as he followed his wife in a crouched position. He knew they can not afford to get separated. Not now, after they drew the first blood.

Eventually Lily reached the garbage bin. She put Harry down behind the bin, and turned to help her husband. She quickly had her shield up in front of James, as he turned to drop Abby also beside Harry.

The Potters pulled up and stood in front of the garbage bin, as the five Death Eaters stood before them in a rough semi-circle.

"We do not have to kill you" the lead Death Eater said loudly. "We came here to take the twins. Hand them over, and you can walk out alive"

"Over my dead body" James said grimly. Lily nodded beside him, never taking their eyes off the dark minions.

"Considering the odds you are facing, that can easily be arranged" The Death Eater said almost mockingly. The other Death Eaters could be heard snorting behind their masks.

Then the curses flew. The Death Eaters were throwing a combination of light and dark spells, while Lily and James were mostly on the defensive. Whenever there was an opening, one would drop their shield, with time enough to throw one or maybe two spells, before they were forced to bring the shield back up. James took out one more, when he got a lucky stunning spell at the right time.

Lily and James took to shielding and hexing alternately. One shielded, while the other threw the hexes. But they were taking too many hits, and were getting exhausted magically. The strain was proving to be too much. Suddenly, a disarming hex took Lily by surprise as her wand flew away from her hand. She could only see with abject fear, as her tool of protection was ripped away from her. James had to act quickly bringing a strong shield in front of Lily, as the Death Eaters tried to use the opportunity to curse the unarmed. He tried to summon Lily's wand, but could not, as he was faced with a volley after volley of hexes. The couple was pushed back further, until they had their backs against the garbage bin they knew their kids were behind. James was getting very exhausted, as he pushed as much magic as he could into his shield. Even the Death Eaters seem to realize his weakened state as they increased their vigor.

One spell got through his shield, and ripped the garbage bin off from behind them. Lily and James heart almost stopped thinking their children were hurt. As James shielded, Lily grabbed the twins and crouched behind James.

James knew that the next volley of spells would be more powerful. So, when the Death Eaters spread out a bit and sent their second volley, James brought up the strongest shield he could muster. He shouted, _"Protego Maxima"_, as a bright watery blue shield came to life before his family. James could immediately feel the increased power of the spells as he had to struggle to maintain the shield. He knew that the shield would not hold for long. But he was even more terrified of what would happen when the shield disappeared.

That was when the miracle happened. A huge bauble of Magical energy shimmered to life around the four Potters. Grey in color, with golden hue shimmering through, the Magical energy totally dissipated the spells James was struggling with, no less than a second ago. James immediately felt the pressure of the spells on his shield neutralize. His shield was still active, but was completely inside the protective bauble.

Lily and James were watching in wonder at the golden hues crisscrossing the bauble. James held his shield for a few more seconds, before letting it go out, and lowered his wand. Little Abby was still crying out of terror in Lily's arms. James took her from his wife, as he studied the magic surrounding him. For some unknown reason, he felt that the protective bauble of magic around them would not let them get harmed. They felt safe. Abby though, was only crying out of fear.

Little Harry, on the other hand, was as quiet as ever. He was looking out at the black robe clad people intensely. If anyone were to pay more attention to the little boy, they would have seen in his eyes, an intensity that could send chills up their spines, and even the darkest of dark practitioners would have quivered in their boots. His green eyes were almost glowing with an unearthly light, his face was scrunched up in deep frown, and his lips were puckered up in concentration. He was looking at the men in front of him with almost hateful intensity that was very much out of place on an 8 month old boy's face

The Death eaters, who were spread out in front of the Potters stood still as they watched the strange phenomenon. They looked on with awe as they saw the grey bauble completely encompass the four targets. They saw the amazed expressions on the faces of the two adults within the bauble. They saw the wailing of the baby with red hair. The baby's hands were clutched into fists and was flailing them around. While the other baby, in the woman's arms was quietly staring back with an unrecognized expression.

They shook themselves out of the daze, and the lead Death Eater shouted out, "Bring down the shield. We need the brats to be brought before the Dark Lord alive today"

They fired out a volley of shield piercing curses at the grey bauble. James immediately got ready to shield the onslaught. But to everybody's amazement, the spells splashed against grey shimmering bauble, causing ripples over it like the surface of water upon being hit by a stone, and disappeared. The shield remained intact.

It was hard to say if the adults inside the bauble were more surprised or the Death Eaters outside. The Death Eaters shot volley after volley of spells with increasing power level. But, not a single spell could cause any perceivable effect on the bauble, or to the ones in the middle.

Frustrated, the lead Death Eater was about to fire the unforgivables at the shield, when streaks of purple lightning shot out from the surface of the bauble in various directions. Instinctively, all the Death Eaters ducked their heads looking at the strange marvel.

The streaks of lightning hit the encompassing anti apparition and anti-portkey wards, which immediately were torn down. It was as if, the streaks of lightning got hold of the ward at various points from inside, and pulled at it until the ward tore apart.

Immediately, the portkey, which surprisingly found its way into Harry's hand, activated pulling all the four Potters away from the alley. The next moment, the Death Eaters saw the bauble and the Potters disappear from before them. The flying dust and smoking debris left behind were the only indication of the magical spectacle that occurred in front of them.

ooo000ooo

The Potters slammed into their living room a few seconds later, as the portkey deposited them in a heap. Barely a moment after the familiar surroundings registered in the mind of the now hysterical Lily, she sprang to action.

She jumped up, and laid Harry on the couch and began checking over for any signs of hurt. She tugged, pulled and turned Harry to be check him all over, including under his shirt and socks. As soon as she was sure Harry was alright, she pounced on her husband, as she grabbed the still wailing Abby, and began her thorough examination.

"Lily", the still shaking voice of James called her from behind.

Lily did not seem to hear or care as she continued ensuring that her both babies were alright. Upon confirming that, she let out a sigh of relief. She looked down at her shaking hands, as the adrenaline left her system, giving way to a fear induced shivering.

She suddenly seem to realize something as she sprang to action and moved over to James, and pulled his arm over looking him up and down. She was in the process of pulling at his arm to look at his back, when James could not contain his amusement, as he cried out loudly,

"Lily!"

Lily stopped her examination suddenly as she realized what she was doing. After a second of shock and amusement, she hugged her husband tightly. James held on, still shivering as he let out a heavy sigh.

The gravity of what happened was just setting into them, as they walked over to the couch, still holding on to each other. Their family, including the twins, just had a run in with six Death Eaters, and came out with no lasting damage. The six minions of Dark Lord were specifically sent to pick up the Potter twins. If it were not for the strange phenomenon which not only defended them from the attack, but also gave them a way to escape, they would have been in the Dark Lord's lair at that very instant. Or worse, dead. They shuddered as they thought what would have happened to them if they were not rescued.

Yes. They definitely were rescued by someone, or some force they do not know about. They knew that James' strongest shield could not have held the last volley of spells. But the magic that defended them had held back a barrage of most powerful hexes the Death Eaters could muster.

They looked across at their children, and the sight brought smile on their face, even under such terrifying time. Little Abby was still crying, but was slowly subsiding, and settling down, in her brothers arms. Harry had his small arms encircled around the crying form of his sister. He was holding Abby tightly, as he looked across towards his parents. He did not seem any different from ever. The attack or the terror that ensued did not seem to have any effect on him, and seem to only realize that his sister needed him. So he was holding her and comforting her in his own silent way.

ooo000ooo

"Incompetent _Foolsss_", the dark lord's voice, no louder than a harsh whisper carried over the large room.

"My Lord, We –"

"_Crucio"_ the dark lord hissed, as a jet of bright red light shot out of his wand, and hit square in the chest of the Death Eater. He immediately dropped down to the ground shaking uncontrollably. The Dark Lord held the curse on him as he turned to the supposed lead for the raid.

"Rosier" the Dark Lord spat out.

Evan Rosier stepped forward. "My Lord" he said looking down, trying to not look at the man on ground, who was still held under the torture curse.

"How many of you went on the raid?"

"S-Six, My Lord" Rosier said, with his insides wriggling in fear.

"And how many did you engage in fighting at Stranghorn's way?"

"T-Two, My Lord" Rosier was almost shivering in his boots.

"BE PRECISE" The Dark Lord shouted, followd by _"Painus"_

Rosier had to bite his tongue to stop himself from crying out as the milder torture hex hit him.

"T-Two aurors, with t-their 8 month old t-twins" Rosier said shaking from the after effects.

"I used to think my Death Eaters to be better than the inept auror corps. But you were bested by two aurors, with infants in their hands. How can I realize Salazar's great vision, if I am surrounded by such _Ineffectual IMBECILES_?"

The Dark Lord slashed his wand diagonally in the direction of another Death Eater from the raid. Much to the surprise of the onlookers, a white streak of light traced the path in which the wand moved top to bottom. The streak of light then lashed out and hit the terrified Death Eater, and seemed to pass right through him until it hit the far wall of the chamber.

Within a second, the Death Eaters upper body slid diagonally down, as a cut appeared from his right shoulder, till the left hip – the path in which the streak of light went through. The Death Eater had time to make a choking sound, before death.

The Dark Lord did not seem concerned at this, as he turned once again towards the lead Death Eater of the raid.

"Tell me, Rosier" he asked, almost conversationally "what use could you be to me, if you could not do a simple task such as this? Why should I let you live?"

"I am sorry, My Lord" Rosier said looking down. "We almost had them overpowered, when a strange magical phenomenon rescued them"

"Magical phenomenon, you say?" that got Voldemort's attention. He slowly walked over to his high back chair. He sat on it and crossed his legs.

"Tell me about it" Voldemort commanded after long.

"My Lord, they were protected by a giant bubble of magical Energy, which could not be broken by any number of shield piercing curses we threw at it. It also seemed to have some strange power, that broke the anti-apparition, anti-portkey wards" Rosier finished.

"A shield that could not be pierced?" Voldemort studied his minion closely looking for any sign of lie or deceit. After all, they were all Slytherins.

"Drop the memory of it in the pensive" he told Rosier when he could not detect a lie.

Rosier walked over to the pensive. He pulled his wand, put it to his temple, and with a look of utmost concentration, he pulled it away slowly. A thin strand of silvery liquid came out of his temple, and dangled at the end of his wand. He carefully dropped it into the pensive, and looked over at the Dark Lord.

Getting a short nod, Rosier touched one of the runes on the pensive, and tapped his wand on the table the pensive was on. Immediately, a wide silvery projection jumped above the pensive showing the events that occurred on the street of Stranghorn's way.

Towards the end, when the grey shield with golden hues surrounded the startled Potters, Voldemort shot out of his chair. He saw the shield protect the Potters, and later bring down the wards.

"Everybody, Leave" he commanded.

Voldemort studied the occupants of the magical bauble, replaying the memory many times. _'Could it be?'_ he thought, _'If it is, then it must be the chosen one'_

ooo000ooo

That evening, Potter living room was filled with a gaggle of voices and nerves. Sirius was found pacing the length of the living room, while the Potters were sitting hurdled in a sofa. Remus and Albus sat quietly opposite to the Potters sofa, deep in thought.

At length, Albus said, "It is clear that the Dark Lord has you under his sights. They did not stumble upon you by chance today afternoon. This appears to be a pre-meditated attack."

"But Albus, this was second or third time that James and Lily went to the Stranghorn's way alone. Usually either Sirius, or I would go along. If this was pre-meditated, as you say, why did they send only six Death Eaters? Shouldn't they have sent more, if there were more people to fight?"

"I would guess that they had the path to Stranghorn's way from Godric's Hollow under constant watch. They must have noticed that the Potters were alone and thus attacked with only six."

Sirius stopped before the couple, and asked, "Were the Death Eaters newbies? Or experienced?"

Lily answered, "I think there were at least three newbies. I could see their inexperience in a real fight. I was easily able to take out the first Death Eater. But the other three seemed experienced"

Sirius nodded. "I agree with Albus. Voldemort would have sent more experienced Death Eaters, unless they knew for sure that, Lily and James were going to be alone. Each with a child in hand, no less. They thought this would be an easy grab-and-go mission for the newbies to get some experience" Sirius looked troubled as he shook his head and added "Bloody Death Eater academy, they are making our lives into".

James nodded his head saying, "If that magical shield had not protected, six would have proven more than enough to take us out".

"So, what was that magical shield that protected us?" Lily asked

"Alas. I do not know for sure. But I have some suspicions. Now, can you tell me how young Abby and Harry reacted to the horrifying incident?" Albus asked the couple.

"Abby was terrified. Quite understandably, I should say. She was crying loudly, and did not settle down for a long time after we came back. But Harry was as he always is. He did not even let out a peep. He did not seem afraid at all during the fight, or afterwards. After coming back home, he in fact sat holding Abby while she was crying" Lily said

James added, "Just before the portkey activated, I looked over my family, and I saw Harry looking at the Death Eaters with expression of deep concentration. If I have to put a name to that expression, I would say it was hatred."

Albus nodded his head as he took in the details. He said, "I think young Harry must have sensed the distress you two were feeling, and looked on at the source with anger. But tell me, how was Abigail after coming back home?"

"She's sleeping." Lily replied. "She fell asleep while Harry was holding her, and she's been sleeping since then. She seemed emotionally drained from the experience"

"Emotionally, or Magically?" Albus asked contemplatively, stroking his beard.

"What do you mean, Albus?" James asked

"It is my suspicion, that the shield that protected you, was a result of Abigail's accidental magic. She must have realized the danger her family was, and her magic must have acted on her subconscious command, with a strongest shield she could muster. This theory is also supported by the fact that she seemed so drained afterwards"

"But, Albus, she is 8 months old. How could she cast such a powerful magic?" Remus asked.

"Mr. Lupin, as I said earliar, the size of magical core, or the amount of magic it can hold remains the same from birth to old age. Through proper education, witches and wizards learn to use least amount of their magic to get most result. What happened at Stranghorn's way today afternoon was a great feat of magic, that requires a large amount of magic to be at disposal."

"You said Abigail has a large magical core" Sirius said from the side.

Albus nodded. "I believe it was an emotional response from Abigail. She was emotionally disturbed due to the fight, and she must have responded appropriately"

The Potters smiled with pride, in spite of the situation, thinking about their daughter's power.

"However, this attack also confirms beyond any doubt, that the Dark Lord had been having you followed closely. In light of the prophecy, and what happened today afternoon, I suspect he would be looking at the twins as an even greater threat, and probable candidates for the chosen one. You must be on alert at all times" Albus warned

None of the occupants knew what to say after that. Most justifiably, they were terrified.

ooo000ooo

The weeks after the attack were very difficult for the Potters to cope with. They were too afraid to take the twins out anywhere. They ensured that at least one adult was always around them. Not any adult either. Only the faithful Marauders, or Lily or Amy. They did not trust anyone else with the twins, however close they may have been.

Slowly however, they came out of their fear induced isolation. They still tried to not go anywhere public with the twins, but at least they were not cooped up in the Potter house, however comfortable it might have been. Finally, three months later, the Potters as good as gave up their isolation on a very happy occasion. They went to St. Mungo's maternity ward, when Amy gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. The Blacks named Adrian Desiderius Black. They named Adrian after Amy's father, who along with Amy's mother was killed in a Death Eater raid just over a month before. Sirius gave the middle name Desiderius. Upon asked if he had any relative with that name, he replied negatively.

He said with pride, "My son is going to grow up to be desired by flocks of girls. When he will be old enough, every time a girl takes his full name, people would know that she yearns for him"

Quite naturally, not many understood his logic, but Amy didn't seem to mind, so no one said anything. The boy had locks of dirty blonde hair, and dark eyes.

To say that Sirius began acting strangely after the birth of his son is an understatement. One moment he would be happy, brimming with excitement, and the next he would look down-trodden, and afraid.

Upon asked why, he said, "Well, here is a boy who is going to depend on me for everything, and going to take my word as being set in stone. What if I screw something up? I mean, I am not wise or even out of enjoying pranking others. How can I be a good father? Until now, if I do something wrong, I was the one who face the consequences. Now, if I do something wrong, he has to face them."

Remus, in his wisdom told him, "The very fact that you are thinking about this means you are a good father, Sirius. It means you are mature enough to identify what is more important and what is inconsequential however happy it can make you. It is about time you became more responsible." Remus finished with a thump on his back.

Sirius knew, few years ago, he would have laughed at Remus if he was told that he had to become responsible. But now, Sirus just said succinctly, "That Sucks"

James laughed from beside, and said, "Welcome to Parenting, Sirius, old boy". He earned a swat from Lily.

In any case, one thing was quite certain. Sirius and Amy were quite proud of their son.

ooo000ooo

True to the title of enforcer his godfather gave him at birth, little Harry seem to have the most control on her sister. It happened many times that, when nothing seem to calm the girl down, a mere touch from her brother would quiet her and bring back the bubbly happy child. No number of visits to the healers could explain why this happens.

It was Albus Dumbledore himself who hypothesized a possibility for that. He said, "It's well known that twins share a close bond that nobody else could really understand. They communicate and help each other in ways that normal siblings rarely achieve. If my guess is correct, Abby's magical core being as big as I had felt, I think her magic sometimes bursts out of control, causing the discomfort to the child. Maybe, at those times, the touch of her brother stabilizes her magic enough to calm her down."

"But Albus, do you really believe that? Do you think it will cause any harm to either of the children?" an anxious Lily Potter asked holding her daughter in her lap with one hand and her husbands hand in the other. Harry was at that time looking around the room unfocusedly from his seat in his fathers lap. The twins were just approaching their first birthday, and were growing healthily.

Albus shook his head, but said, "I am a little worried about it though"

"Why?" James asked.

"Well, if my guess is correct, I think Abby may have trouble controlling her accidental bursts of magic as she grows up. She may end up doing something unfortunate. I have a personal experience with a child who could not control herself, and caused pain that could not be healed even after a century" Albus said thinking about his once dear sister, and his biggest mistake to date.

"What do you propose Albus?" Lily asked almost fearfully.

"What if we bind her magic? Only temporarily, until she gets her own wand and learns to control it herself consciously."

Little Harry shook out of his daze, and looked sharply at the headmaster. His unearthly green eyes bore into the headmasters head. The Headmaster felt the gaze tear into his head, as he looked at the little boy. He felt a sense of disapproval radiating from the little boy.

"But Albus, if we bind a person's magic, wouldn't they feel difficulty coping up with the increased magic coursing through their body when it's finally unbound?" Lily asked.

He had to visibly shake himself, in order to break the gaze and respond. "That is true, but I do not think little Abby should have any trouble with that"

Harry began getting unsettled in the lap of his father. He tried to get away from his fathers lap, and go to his side.

"Harry, Settle down. Daddy is having important conversation" James gently admonished his son and tried to hold him tightly. But Harry wouldn't have any of that. He pulled and pushed at his father's hands till he was free of them. He immediately crawled over to his mother.

The adults thought Harry wanted his mother's lap. But when he reached his mother, he did get into her lap, but he held his happily gargling sister tightly in his arms, and looked at the headmaster with a concentrated, piercing gaze.

The adult interpreted the gaze quite clearly. It was challenging. The Potters were surprised at the baby boy's behavior. They stared at the boy, until the headmaster's voice broke in,

"If I were to guess, young Harry does not approve of the idea" Albus said looking directly at the boy.

As much as he tried, Albus could not understand the conundrum called Harry Potter. Since Harry's birth, Albus could not sense an ounce of magic from him. Not even his life force. He guessed the boy was a squib, but never raised that with the young parents. But occasionally, he would show brilliance not expected from a boy of such young age. He seemed to know when his sister needs him, and he reacted most oddly at times that did not make any sense.

Albus was curious about what the boy was thinking that made him act in such a manner. So, Albus attempted legilimency on the boy.

Human mind is a very complicated entity. Some people thought of it as a large playground (or a sandbox), where thoughts and memories were scattered around. Some thought of it as a layered unit, where each layer, like the levels of Dante's hell, stored a specific type of information that helps in recollection and formation of new thoughts. To an accomplished legilimens, human mind appears like a fog that can be stroked with a strand of magic. When the strand hits the fog, the question that was imprinted into the strand of magic causes the thoughts and memories related to that question to be pushed out of the fog. The legilimens can thus see through them.

Albus wanted to know what the boy was thinking at that moment, and pushed his strand of legilimens magic towards the boy's head. He felt the strand searching around for the fog of human mind.

What his magic encountered, or more precisely, what his magic did not encounter surprised him. There was no fog of mind in the boy's head. He could not sense anything. It was as if his legilimens strand was flailing around in a vast nothingness. It was almost as if Harry Potter did not have a mind at all. That, Albus knew for sure, was impossible. As dazed as Harry seemed at instances, he proved many times in his short span of life that, he was quite capable of thought, some even beyond his young age.

Albus pulled back his magic, as he looked around confusedly. Upon getting his bearing, he looked at the little boy in slight wonder. In his life time, which was over a century and half, he had never encountered anyone whose mind he could not even feel through legilimency. He looked at the boy's face to find a great sense of disapproval. If he thought he felt disapproval before when he suggested the idea of binding Abby's magic, that was nothing compared to what he felt now, when he looked into the boy's eyes. He felt as if he was looking into the eyes of his disappointed mother upon being caught doing something bad.

A few seconds later however, Harry was back to his previous game of looking around the room unfocusedly. Albus was going bonkers thinking about the mystery that was Harry Potter.

ooo000ooo

As the weeks after the first birthday of the twins passed, the attacks around the world intensified. Everyday, the death toll, and the number of injured being admitted into St. Mungo's raised. No person in the magical world was immune from the terror. Every person had a friend, or relative who was severely injured or killed by dark wizards. People returned to their houses to find their home destroyed and the green dark mark floating menacingly over the destroyed places. Hope despaired, and dreams crushed, as a number of people struggled to merely survive in this cruel transformed world.

The Ministry was now looking for help from the ministries around the world just to maintain the order in Britain. Everybody knew that the ministry was ready to collapse into the hands of the Dark Lord very soon, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Amidst these attacks, even the Potters and Blacks lost someone close to them. The parents of Lily were found quite recently dead in their homes. There were no signs of breaking into the house, nor was there any obvious cause of death. Lily had a bit of solace compared to others, knowing that her parents were at least not tortured before their death.

Also, one day, Regulus Black's body was dropped in front of Sirius' house. He was tortured to the extent that Sirius had trouble identifying him. Even though Regulus was sorted into the Slytherin house, he was still close to his brother. Appearances aside, Sirius likewise loved him. Sirius knew that his brother joined the Death Eaters. That caused the falling out between them. Regulus refused to give up the Black family's legacy of pureblood supremacy, while Sirius did not even consider it important.

Being an auror, Sirius refused to take any assignment where there was a possibility of his brother to be active. He knew he could not lift his wand against his brother. But in the end, Regulus seemed to have been killed by the side he chose. Sirius was quite distraught that his brother was so murdered.

Judging by the intensity of the attacks, Albus suggested the Potters to take the twins into hiding. He visited the Potters one Friday afternoon, and suggested a solution.

"I propose that you cast the secrecy charm of Fidelius. I fear that the attacks around would intensify in the coming days. If they do, the safety of your children would be of paramount importance. The future of the wizarding world as we know it, may depend on them"

"Fidelius?" James asked

"It's a charm which puts a single secret into the soul of another person. If a property is put under Fidelius, any person, friend or foe may pass right by the property without even knowing it existed. Unless the secret keeper reveals the secret willingly, it can not be found." Lily told her husband.

"So, who do we ask to be our secret keeper?" James asked.

* * *

(A/N) To answer a question posed, neither Albus, nor the Potters know what Magus Emissarius means at this point. Whatever they understood about the prophecy, Albus explained it in the last chapter.

(A/N2) To keep all your brains churning, I am going to give you a tease. The question _"Could it be?"_ that Voldemort asks himself is not at all what it seems, and is later going to change his life(whatever is left of it). He is going to be far different from the cannon Voldemort. As much as I like the books, I can not, but feel annoyed about some parts of it. I can not believe that the darkest wizard in over a century, who is feared by everyone, whose name itself is taboo, could not be taken down by a disarming curse. I am going to try model the Voldemort in my story to fit the title "Darkest Wizard of the Century".

(A/N) Another fun question. Dumbledore mentions Alphred in the beginning of the chapter. Who do you think is he referring to? A brownie point for anyone who gets it right.

Please review. This being my very first attempt at writing a story, your input is very valuable to me.

Enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6:The Rise and Fall of Dark Lord

(A/N) Alright people… The new installment if finally out. And it is over eleven whopping thousand words long. I feel so proud. I am sorry for the huge delay in getting this update out, but real life snuck up on me. As much as I tried to put it on hold to take care of important things like delivering this chapter to you, the darn thing just won't back off. Also, I did not want to release another chapter without the fall of Dark Lord in it

(A/N2)Also, this chapter is the single most important chapter for the entire story. It effects the way Voldemort lives, comes back and dies (or does he ). Basically everything about the dark lord from this moment forth. I had to outline his entire life, the way remaining characters get effected by him, the way they live their life, etc., before writing this chapter. Effectively I have outlined the entire story (at the moment it looks like it's going to be novel length). This added to the delay as well. Sorry again. ducking the tomatoes thrown at me.

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Rise and Fall of the Dark Lord**

Tom Marvolo Riddle was, as the sorting hat at Hogwarts had once said, a true Slytherin. He was ambitious enough to take up the task half done by the great Salazar Slytherin, and was cunning enough to find ways to realize it. His final goal was to cleanse the world of its impurity, and become its ultimate ruler. He understood that, however powerful wizard he was, he could not take on and win against the established government. He needed followers. He needed loyal subjects who would be ready to do his bidding without question. As the number of his followers increased, neither the government, nor the wizengamot would be able to oppose him.

The followers of Riddle (or his self fashioned name Voldemort) were found in many walks of life and he was very cunning in organizing their hierarchy. The majority of them were rather just sympathizers for dark arts than the pureblood fanatics as thought by most. Their greed for power was what guided them to follow Riddle. Each however yearned for a different kind of power. Some wanted political power, some monetary, while some just followed for the thrill of holding others at their mercy. Riddle was kind enough to provide the type each craved for, and they pledged their loyalty. Very early in his life, Riddle realized that everybody's loyalty had a price. Not all was monetary, but emotional, like love, hate, fear, greed, etc. But as sure as the sun rises in the east, every person's loyalty can be bought with the right enough price, and through that Voldemort commanded their loyalty.

The dark followers that proved themselves were bestowed the coveted Dark Mark, and thus recruited into the ranks of the dark army called Death Eaters. They were often those that provided something back to him. Either through information, or sheer ruthlessness in successfully completing his bidding. They were more akin to the foot soldiers of the dark army.

The most elite and generals of the dark army formed his inner circle. They provided the powerbase for the dark army and his revolution. There were some with strong political connections, some who were magically well-versed, and some great spy masters who were quite adept at deceiving their masters on the either sides. Time and again, the dark inner circle members had proved how effective they can be, how harsh the result of their involvement would be, and how unforgiving they really were. Just like their master.

However, being a Slytherin, Riddle never trusted anybody completely. He never disclosed all his plans to any one individual, nor did he discuss them with his inner circle. He gave each of his followers just enough information to effectively carry out the task assigned. He did not tolerate failure, nor did he allow any one follower to gain more power than he was worth. Since most of his followers were Slytherins, he knew there were many who yearned for the kind of power Lord Voldemort yields, and ambitious enough to try a coup. He did not wish to deal with mutiny. So he was very clear on how he dealt with such miscreants. A long and torturous destruction of everything they held dear, followed by a longer death. Needless to say, no one attempted that for over two decades.

As the saying goes _"evil begets evil"_, many witches and wizards with inclination to the dark arts flocked under the banner held by Lord Voldemort. As their numbers grew, the dark organization became more and more active in their campaign. They began conducting attacks and raids aimed at those who opposed their ideology. The sheer ruthlessness with which they snubbed out their opposition was both marveled and feared.

As always, the ministry failed to consider the new threat as anything of importance. They completely ignored the old coot Dumbledore's warnings and liked to haggle with internal politics about who should have more political power than whom. Lord Voldemort easily solved this dilemma one summer evening of 1969 by killing both sides, and claiming that power for himself.

It was one of the darkest periods of Wizarding history, when the heads of every major department in ministry, along with their family, were killed. The entire operation was so meticulously planned and executed that until the deed was done, no one had a clue. All the attacks were carried out at the residences of the victims at approximately the same time, which proved the numbers at his command. All the victims were widely popular figures from the war against Grindelwald. These were the main proponents of many bills that gave rights to muggleborns, and their muggle relatives.

By eliminating most of them in one fell swoop, Voldemort achieved victory on many facets. He proved what he is capable of to both his followers and the entire world. This got many secret dark arts enthusiasts, pureblood proponents to join his ranks, thus increasing his powerbase. He established beyond any question that he was the Lord. To cap of his achievements was the brilliant idea of putting on a taboo curse on his name. It was when every witch, wizard, commoner was scared to even utter his name that Voldemort knew he achieved victory in the first phase of his plan.

Tom Marvolo Riddle successfully transformed into the Dark Lord Voldemort.

ooo000ooo

Voldemort contemplated the situation he was in, at that moment. He was the most feared wizard in the entire world. His power was absolute, and he was quite confident that one or more of his experiments to cheat death would succeed. Through his followers, he had control over what happens in the ministry. He ensured that every major department in the ministry had a few of his spies to keep him informed about anything of importance. He knew that with enough people in the right places, the British wizarding ministry would fall right into his hands. He just had to wait for the opportune moment to spring the coup. He should be happy with the way things are. But at that moment, he was not.

The reason was a certain prophecy one of his death eater heard. He was quite confident that with all the dark rituals and experiments, he was the "dark conduit" mentioned in the prophecy, whatever that is. This meant that his power was not as absolute as he thought, that there was a certain 'chosen one' who could threaten his power. This can not be ignored.

It does not matter whether the chosen one was young, old or not even born. It must be destroyed. Even the mere idea of someone who could question his power must be eliminated. Such ideas tend to give his enemies hope, and hope is something that no darkness could bare. It tends to make people foolishly defy him. He did not need to deal with that.

He only knew the first half of the prophecy that talked about the chosen one, but no way to correctly identify them. For what seemed like hundredth time, he cursed the clumsiness of Snape. What good could he be to the dark order, if he lacks the finesse while gaining information? The only good thing that came out of that debacle was that, he now had eyes and ears inside the old fool's organization. According to Snape, he was successfully able to fool the old coot with his story of still having _love_ for his old friend.

Voldemort scoffed. _Love_. The most useless emotion that has ever sprouted in human psyche. Yet, it is also the most useful emotion, that can be made use of in other people to gain advantage. Nevertheless, he would watch young Snape closely to ascertain his true loyalties. Such is the role of a double-agent.

But Snape did give him information about Dumbledore's musings regarding the identity of the chosen one. Initially he had completely discounted them, since he refused to believe that any child borne by a mudblood would be powerful enough to oppose him.

But the most important information came from his greatest spy in the old coot's Order. He still got a smug smirk when he thought about how cleverly he had dealt with the emotions of this spy. He had successfully manipulated him and turned him against very friends – who considered him family. The unwavering trust the light side had in their own was ever so easy to manipulate, and it also ensured that he gained access to the deepest of their thoughts. Over the past many years the new spy had proved himself to be loyal to Lord Voldemort. A loyalty Voldemort had bred through the spy's own fears, his inherent jealousy for others' capabilities, and his own inadequacies. Voldemort never expected to find such a faithful servant in the spineless coward who was caught by the death eaters due to his own stupidity.

This spy had informed him about Dumbledore's suspicion and Potter's belief regarding the little girl born. The information bourn by this spy was quite interesting, to say the least. A little girl with a magical core bigger than Dumbledore's was something that can not simply be ignored. Even if the child was not the chosen one, a light sided child with such power will surely be a threat to his own authority. So he had the Potter family watched closely for a chance to eliminate them.

This got Voldemort to think about the magical display Rosier had seen at Stranghorn's way. He had read about such a phenomenon in ancient Indian writings while describing exceptional individuals, who had a very close but unknown type of relationship with Magic. In each case described, the individual was far more powerful than an average witch or wizard. He knew that it could mean only one thing, and he needed to find a way to use it to his benefit.

As such, the time of birth for chosen one mentioned in the prophecy, the actual time of birth of Potter twins, his two spies intelligence reports, and the magical display Rosier had shown him drew a very clear picture for Voldemort. The Potter Girl must be destroyed in a way that is most advantageous for Lord Voldemort.

ooo000ooo

Voldemort studied his inner circle with a critical eye. Each person had proved themselves quite admirably and their position in his inner circle was well deserved. This was the reason he gave such an important task to them. To find where the Potters were hiding.

"My Lord" the silky voice of Lucius Malfoy said as he bent down to kiss the hem of Voldemort's robe. The other members were on their knee in front of him.

"Rise" he commanded.

Each inner circle member stood up and took a step back to their pre-assigned place in front of their Lord in a semicircular formation.

Voldemort studied each for a second, probing their mind to find what they feel. Their face may not show any expression, but their mind never lies. That day, he felt trepidation in each's mind. Voldemort knew they did not have any positive news to report. This made him angry.

"What tidings do you bring me?" Voldemort asked them, even though he knew the answer.

"My Lord. Both the Potters have not reported to their Auror desks for the last three months. They had applied for Leave of absence, and nobody in Auror corps seem to know where they are" Malfoy replied

"What of their friend, Black?"

"My Lord, Sirius Black had resigned from Auror corps after he found his brother's body. His formal reason for resignation is 'to pursue alternate career options'" Avery replied.

"What have you tried to do, in order to find them?" the Dark Lord asked while pacing slowly in front of his followers.

"My Lord," Carrow responded "We had the Blacks and the werewolf tailed wherever they are seen, but they always seem to slip away in Godric's Hollow. We could not see where they go, but they just seem to disappear"

"Are you such an imbecile to not understand that they are hiding under a magical ward?" Voldemort thundered at his inept follower. Voldemort had to visibly restrain himself from cursing the sorry excuse of existence named Carrow.

"What elssse?" Voldemort hissed

"My Lord," Mulciber began slowly, "I placed Imperius curse on the Longbottoms when they visited, and tried to gain where the Potters are. But they do not seem to know either"

"What bearing does that have on our current situation, Mulciber?" Voldemort so irritated by his inept followers that he was about to curse the foolish wizard.

"They seem to have visited Potter's house many times in the past, but could not tell me where they had gone to. They seemed magically restrained from talking about the location." Mulciber breathed easy as he saw Voldmort relaxing. "This makes me think of only one explanation"

"Fidelius Charm" Voldemort said slowly as he realized where Mulciber was leading. He got his confirmation as he saw Mulciber nod.

"It would explain why you lose the ones you tail in Godric's Hollow. Potters had always been known to reside in that filthy little village" Voldemort continued in a commanding voice "Find out if they indeed are under the charm. If they are, find out who the secret keeper is"

Voldemort turned his back to his followers. They understood the dismissal, as each bowed and receded from the room.

As an after thought, Voldemort called out, "Amycus"

Amycus Carrow remained in the room and apprehensively walked over to his lord.

"My Lord?" he said respectfully bowing his head.

"Your arm"

Carrow knew what was coming as he pulled his left sleeve up showing his dark mark.

Voldemort touched it with his wand, as he summoned his spy. He knew that this caused a great deal of pain to the host. He watched dispassionately as Carrow shivered and whimpered in pain.

Once satisfied, he stood straight, and commanded, "Leave". Carrow immediately scampered away, causing Voldemort to scoff, _"Spineless imbecile"_ he thought.

Voldemort waited. When he was about to lose patience, he saw the short stooping figure of his spy make way through the room.

"My Lord" he said as he kissed the hem of his robe. He could see the hand holding the hem shiver, and voice quiver in fear. Voldemort felt disgusted at the cowardice of his minion. If not for his place in the Order, Voldemort would have been quite happy to torture him to a mindless pulp.

"What took you so long, Wormtail?" he hissed at him, pouring his disgust and anger at being made to wait.

"M- My Lord," the same sniveling voice began, that seem to grate on his nerves. "I – I had t-to get away f-from D-Dumble –"

"_crucio"_ Voldemort all but shouted at the irritating man. He watched as the sorry excuse for a wizard fell to the ground and wriggled in pain.

"Keep your excuses with yourself, Wormtail"

"S- Sorry, My Lord. How may I serve you?"

"I need some information, Wormtail." Voldemort began in a smooth silky voice, which seem to terrify Wormtail even further.

"Anything, My Lord. I am your most faithful servent"

"Hmm. Is that so? We shall put your statement to test now. Do you know where the Potters are hiding?"

"M- My Lord?"

"Do you not understand what I asked?" Voldemort asked, irritated.

"Er"

A quick probe into his mind told Voldemort that he knew. If he could actively think about the Potters location, it could mean only one thing,

"You are the secret keeper for their charm, aren't you?"

Another probe proved this too was true. Voldemort was very surprised at this. Of all the light wizards, they had chosen Wormtail to hide their chosen one's location. This indeed was as laughable as it was pathetic. But now, he had to make him give the secret willingly. This would be tricky, since the nature of the charm disallows forcefully taking the secret.

"Think very carefully before answering the question, Wormtail. Or this might be the very last answer you will ever give. Where are the Potters hiding?"

Wormtail seemed to be going through the sudden bout of loyalty for his friends. He was stuck between thinking of all the happiness their friends had provided, versus the promise of being part of the new world Voldemort was sure to bring in a matter of few years.

The internal struggle of his minions due to his manipulations is what Lord Voldemort enjoyed the most, and his skill with words was unprecedented. He continued very smoothly fueling his spy's constriction "You know very well that you can ever be on my side. You yearn for power which the light side can never give you. More so, if your friends ever know that you work for me, they will surely abandon you. Do you want to give them chance to hurt you? Or do you want to be free of them for ever?"

Wormtail did not say anything, but seemed to be thinking deeply about his master's words.

"Think of all the times your so called _friends_ snubbed you out. All the times they did not care about your achievements. Much so, they made fun of them. Don't you feel it's unfair? They get everything in life while you have to struggle to even make a small difference"

Wormtail seemed to oscillate between the two extremes. One second he seemed to be boiling in rage, while the next cold in resolve to not give up his secret. Voldemort knew this was the time to give the final blow

"You can die bravely for your friends, whom I will get to one way or the other." He paused. "Or you can lead me to your tormentors, and justify the position I intend to give you in the new wizarding order. A position, I might add, you made for yourself with nobody's assistance. The choice is yours"

Voldemort said this and turned his back to the spy. He waited patiently to see what Wormtail would do next. No more than a minute later, he heard the annoying voice squeak out,

"They are at 416 Paddington way, Godric's Hollow"

Voldemort smiled. He always got what he wanted.

ooo000ooo

_Sometime earliar…_

Remus looked across the table at his friend. Sirius looked more haggard and troubled than he had ever seen him. It came as a surprise to even his friends, that Sirius was so affected by his brother's death. It was hard to believe that as rebellious as Gryffindor Sirius seemed during his younger years, he cared so much for a Slytherin brother.

"Are you sure about your decision, Sirius? Ever since I have known you, Auror is what you wanted to become" Remus asked taking a sip of his drink.

Sirius looked long into the glass in his hand, before simply nodding his head.

Remus was not sure what to think of his friend's decision to resign from the Auror corps. To say the least, it was shocking. Remus was afraid that Sirius was doing something he would regret later.

Remus Lupin was a man who had a very tough life. He was certain that if it were not for his friends standing beside him, he would not have survived as long as he did. He was a very different individual before and after the seven years at Hogwarts. He was born in a very poor family, where his parents had to struggle to make the ends meet. Added to this, Remus was bitten by a werewolf when he was little. This added further more stress that drove both Lupin parents to an early grave.

Due to his _'condition'_, Remus was no stranger to prejudice in wizarding world. Even though it was not a crime that anyone would willingly commit, people seem to think werewolves as those that needed to be eradicated. Remus faced this discrimination early in his life at every school he attended. Many magical elementary schools outright rejected him, or dismissed him as soon as they came to know about his _'condition'_. _'Condition'_, they would say, that would be hazardous to other children, when they clearly knew that the people affected were quite normal for thirty days of each month. He used to be scorned at every place he ever visited. Some even resorted to beat him out of their establishment. When Remus got frustrated and attacked back, even if it was verbal, they would quote that as an unsafe aggression due to his _'condition'_, and use it as a reason to send him away.

Very early in his life, Remus was forced to learn being subservient. Meekly accepting what others unjustfully dished out in unwanted circumstances. He learned to think of reasons why he deserved the life he got. He learned to avoid any situation he need not get into, and think of every aspect of every circumstance he was forced to get into. He learned to grow up quickly in the world filled with bigotry, accepting everything, and never questioning other's conceded authority. When he received his Hogwarts admission letter, he was the most under confident kid, with books as his only solace.

He was grateful for the opportunity Dumbledore had given him in allowing admission into Hogwarts, in spite of knowing about his _'condition'_. Dumbledore had gone as far as providing ways to ease the ritualistic torture he had to undergo every month. He provided the place to safely transform without hurting himself much, or more importantly without hurting any others by mistake. He also allowed medical support the day after. Upon asking how he could repay for his generosity, Dumbledore said, "In the next seven years, work hard and prove to me that the chance I am giving you is not wasted. That is the best payment I ask as your Headmaster". He resolved to prove that to the best of his abilities.

But upon entering Hogwarts with other normal children from normal families, he felt very much out of place. His low self-confidence and meek personality set him aside from everybody else. Remus could never understand what made the other three approach him, nor did he understand why they decided to be his friends. But he was grateful for it. On the day they figured out that his absence every month and the injuries the following day were due to him being a werewolf, Remus thought he had lost the only people that made his life any bit enjoyable. But to his surprise, they were not like the others. They did not scorn at him, nor did they stop being his friends. If any, they seem to realize the reason for his low self-confidence, and began helping him boost it.

That was when he began thinking of his friends as not just friends, but more as a family. They helped him so much throughout his life that he would be damned before he sees any of them hurt, by others, or by themselves. This was the reason he came along with Sirius to talk about his reason for so suddenly resigning from Auror corps.

"I am not sure I understand why you did it, Sirius. Every subject you took at school, every course you ever did was geared towards becoming an Auror. Now you have everything you ever dreamed about. A great job, a beautiful wife, and a new son. So, why resign?" Remus pressed.

Sirius looked up at his friend before shaking his head replied, "You won't understand Remus. It's too complicated."

"Then make me!" Remus exclaimed.

Sirius took a deep breath and said with a smile, "You wont leave me until you get it out, won't you?"

"I don't want you to make any mistakes Sirius. Not while I am standing beside you."

Sirius smiled at his friend, and took a swig at his drink. "Fair enough. Let me ask you a question then Remus. Why are you not an Auror? You wanted to be one as much as James and I. So why not?"

"You know why. It's because of my _'condition'_. Besides, it is not about me. It's about you."

Sirius smiled, "See. You have a good heart. You are brave and loyal. You have a sense of good versus evil. Everybody in our batch knew that you are smarter than most of them. At least smarter than James and I, if not more than Lily. But still, why can't you get what you wanted in life? Why won't they accept you into a place where you could do wonders?"

"What's that got to do with anything? Where are you going with this?"

"There is a problem with our world, Remus." Sirius said slowly, "There is too much division. Too much prejudice, and too little tolerance. We are living in a world where just for the advantage of a select few, rest of them have to suffer. We live in a world where social status is given more importance than the actual talent of an individual Everyday we struggle to either live with it or we fail completely at life. You are the prime example of this, Remus."

Remus was now genuinely curious at what his friend was going at. He simply nodded and urged him to continue.

"So this got me thinking. What is this social status? Is it money? Is it Political power? Or is being magically powerful?"

"A bit of all I guess" Remus reasoned.

"You know what I realized? It's none."

"What?"

"It's being magically skillful. If you look back into every powerful family's genealogy, you will find that there were some who were magically so skillful that they, along with their descendents were respected for their accomplishments. As time passed, the descendents became too complacent with all the money and power the family already accumulated that they stopped being so skillful."

Sirius paused, "But the newcomers into the world like the muggleborns, who would quite obviously be trying to establish themselves, were becoming more skillful than those already established families."

Remus nodded. It made sense.

Sirius continued. "This obviously did not sit well with the powerhouse of the society, and thus came in the pureblooded ideology and discrimination. People started finding ways to eliminate anyone who was or could be a threat to their '_superior social status_'. They began forming groups similar to Death Eaters now to keep their superiority from slipping. They became so radical with their approaches that they began killing off anybody talking against their way of thinking irrespective of what their status in world is. Like they did with Regulus."

"I understand this Sirius. But I still don't see where you are going with this"

"Don't you see Remus? Being a head of an ancient and noble family, I am one with all of the things thought to be needed for superior social status. And I am best positioned to begin a change from the inside"

Remus choked on his drink.

"Are you serious? And don't you dare make that joke about your name."

Sirius just smiled.

"Tell me you are not doing this because of your brother Sirius" Remus said, afraid of the answer.

"Partly" Sirius just said.

"Explain to me in detail that little statement" Remus asked rubbing his temples.

"Regulus was not really that bad Remus. But he was weaker emotionally than I was. He tended to follow what is a norm, rather than following what he thinks is right. He went into Slytherin because our entire family was in Slytherin, and he wanted to follow them. I know him very well Remus. I know how he thinks. He never really thought much about all this pureblood supremacy bullshit. Until I left the house, I tried to shield him from all the crap my dear old mother preached. But once I left, she had a free go with his life" Sirius said bitterly.

Remus understood this was something his friend needed to talk about, but never got a chance to. He simply urged Sirius to continue.

"He may have been forced into the pureblood ideology, but he was never an evil boy, Remus. He never liked hurting other people. I guess him joining the death eaters was another thing I can attribute to my bloody old mother's urging. On the rare occasion that I met him after he joined Death Eaters, he never seemed happy. I tried to talk him out of leaving them. I guess I finally got through to him, which got him killed eventually" Sirius finished remorsefully.

Remus understood this was a burden of guilt Sirius was bearing since his brother's death. There was, however, nothing that Remus could say to ease the pain. He finally asked him, "So what do you plan on doing?"

"I plan on bringing the Black family with all its power and glory into the ministry politics" Sirius said grinning like a Cheshire cat.

That got Remus' attention completely. The Black family is one of the most powerful families in the wizarding world. It was even rumored that the Black family was one of the first ever families to begin using magic as part of everyday routine, and the ones to pioneer the concept of a wizarding world in parallel to regular muggle world. The main reason Blacks showed disinterest in modern politics was because they saw no reason strong enough to work for living. Also, they did not have patience to deal with trivial political rivalries. In the modern wizarding world, the unoccupied seat of Black family has the single most powerful vote on the floor of wizengamot.

Sirius continued "I plan on showing the lawmakers of wizarding world their own mistakes, and correct them. Being a Black, I get an easy access into the inner workings of ministry. I plan on being on the inside of their little glass house, and throw stones at their walls"

Sirius took a deep breath and continued "I never thought I would say this, but being a Black, I have the best advantage to begin undertaking such a task. There is so much injustice and corruption in this world Remus that, I am afraid to even think of what kind of world it would be, by the time Adrian, Harry and Abby would grow up. If someone like me does not do anything, then who will?" Sirius asked almost begging for approval.

Remus knew that with the backing of the Black family, Sirius' own genius (as seen in their pranking history) and the Slytherin blood running through him, the ministry did not stand a chance against his friend. Like he said, if the ones with enough say in the ministry do not take it upon themselves to cause a change, then who will? All he needed is someone to put a lid on some of his flighty ideas and keep him grounded with reality. Remus realized that, without even putting it verbally, Sirius was looking at him for just that.

His friend had stood by him all his life. Now, it was his turn to give his friend support in his new quest.

"I didn't know you were so Slytherin in your thinking, Sirius", Remus said with a smile.

"Neither did I", Sirius muttered with a blush.

"So, when do we start?" Remus asked casually.

Sirius looked up with a surprised expression that quickly turned into one of happiness. He said, "How does Halloween Ball seem as the coming out party for Black family?"

Remus smiled. His friend thought through pretty much everything. The Pureblood community of wizarding world had always been a stickler for traditions and custom. Balls, dances, and parties served not just as a place for personal visitations, but a chance to form new social and political connections. It proved advantageous for guests and hosts alike to attend such powerful gathering. As the tradition goes, the older pureblooded families shared amongst themselves a specific celebration of their liking to host such gatherings. The most honored events were the Christmas Ball which the Longbottoms hosted, Midsummer Night Ball at the Malfoys residence, and the Halloween Ball which the Blacks organized.

Such gatherings were hosted by the current head of the ancient pureblood family. Since Sirius was thrown out of the family by his mother, this tradition had been upheld by Regulus Black. However, after his death, Sirius being of Black blood became the default head of that ancient family. Thus it fell on him to honor the tradition.

It was also the right opportunity to begin spreading the word.

ooo000ooo

As the days closed in to Halloween, the Potter and Black households were bustling with activity. Sirius decided that the Halloween Ball is to be organized in the Quidditch pitch beside his house. There were a number of things to be organized before the big day, and the Potters along with Remus were right beside their friend to ensure nothing was amiss.

Back at home, the Potter twins were learning to walk and talk a little bit. Well, the walk bit was done by both, but the talk bit was mostly done by Abby. Harry was, as usual quietly staring at his family from his little chair in the living room. They were also learning to play with each other. The idea of playing is very different for the twins. While Abby liked to push the toys around, throwing them or kicking them around at times, the way any normal one year old kid would do, Harry would just pick them up and bring them into the small play circle and put them together in patterns. He would use colors of toys to make different shapes and patterns. Once done, Abby would just leave her toys and go out, while Harry would collect them all, his as well as his sister's toys, and put them in their toy chest before leaving the play area.

But Harry was not all brains all the time. He had his own quirks. Many of them actually, and the adults were learning about them every day. Unlike Abby, who doesn't mind any new people holding her or playing with her, Harry took time watching the newcomers from the side for many hours. He would neither play by himself, nor play with Abby while the newcomer was in the same room. He would just spend the time staring at them until in his mind they became old-timers.

Also, Abby would smile or laugh when others played with her, tickled her in the sides. But when they did the same with Harry, he would seem more irritated than happy about it. He also never sat in others arms for a long time. Only when needed. He acted almost as if he did not understand the concept of playing along with others (except Abby). That seemed very strange to all the adults, their family healers included. Strange as it would seem, he was always quite content watching his sister play and have fun with others than join in.

That was another thing people around could not help but notice. He always seemed very protective of his sister. He never showed any emotion usually. But one easy way to make him quite annoyed was to cause his sister discomfort. Sirius learned it the hard way one day, when he was tickling Abby. He never noticed that the little girl was laughing so hard that her face was turning red, as if she had difficulty breathing. All of a sudden, Harry began screaming from his little chair beside. He screamed so loud in a shrill high pitch voice that it made all the adults cringe. He then calmly got up, came over to Sirius, and pulled his gasping sister away from Sirius' hands, all the time glaring at him. When Sirius realized what happened, he did not know if he should feel guilty for what he did, or happy nothing happened, or proud of his godson's protectiveness.

The only explanation anyone could come up with regarding how Harry acted was that he is precocious. The mind healers tried to explain it by saying that Harry's mind operated in a different way compared to normal people. They explained in layman terms that, it worked very fast in some parts and very slow in other parts. They went on to say that it was just the way the kid was, and if the parents wanted, they could try some experimental potions to study the kid. Quite naturally, the Potters did not like what was alluded, and never went back to those mind healers.

On the day of Halloween, due to the rapidly cooling temperature, Abby developed a slight fever and cold. The Potters knew there was no way she could be taken to the Ball since it was an outdoor event. They thought of taking Harry along, but knowing Harry's obvious distaste with large crowds and no Abby alongside, they thought it would not be a good idea.

"But who will we call to babysit them?" Lily asked worriedly.

Being under the Fidelius charm limited the number of people allowed into their household. As such the only people who could come into their house could be counted on fingers of their hands. The Marauders, Lily and Amy were sitting in the Potter living room discussing the current problem.

"I am not sure, Lily. Maybe we should just remain here." James said.

"Nonsense, James. You are not going to be away from the first ever party I organize as Lord Black" Sirius objected from the side.

"Well, I don't mind sitting them" Remus put in. even as he said it, he knew Sirius would object. Being appointed as an official advisor to the new Lord Black, this was as much a coming out party for Remus as it was for Sirius. As he expected, Sirius was shaking his head.

"Adrian gets cranky at times. I don't want him to ruin Sirius' party. How about I babysit all three kids" Amy suggested.

"And I will remain with Amy, while James can go" Lily added

No body liked it, but they seemed to agree this may be the best idea. Peter did not say anything since Little Harry's dislike for Uncle Peter was well known, and it had never changed over time.

ooo000ooo

The final preparations for the Ball were underway as the evening drew in. Peter had to pop out for a bit since he got an urgent message from his ministry co-worker. He worked in the Department of Magical Transportation, and organized the official portkeys for the masses. That day, he organized the portkeys for all the prominent families attending the anticipated Black Halloween Ball.

An hour before the Ball was scheduled to begin, Peter rushed into the Black living room where everybody was assembled and cried out,

"Sirius, we have a problem"

"What?"

"All the Wizengamot families are arriving with their heirs apparent. Each of them ordered two portkeys. This could only mean that they expect them and their heirs to be introduced separately" Peter exclaimed. He seemed far more troubled about this than one would expect.

"So?" Sirius asked confused. He did not understand why this was such a big problem.

"It means they expect your heir apparent also to be introduced. It means Adrian must attend. Since he can not yet walk, his mother must be the one to hold him while he gets introduced." Lily finished as she understood Peter's intent.

"I need to drop off then Sirius. I can't leave Lily alone." James said sitting beside his wife.

Sirius sighed. He would have liked to have his best friend with him at such an important party. But kids came before anything else. He nodded accepting his friend's decision

"What if I watch over the twins for tonight" Peter suggested almost apprehensively. He was looking at his friends with an expression almost begging them to agree.

The rest looked at him curiously. He had never showed interest in such a thing before.

"You know I am no good in big gatherings. I get all frisky and nervous around them, and there are a lot of prominent people coming in today. I saw the list of portkeys ordered. I don't want to embarrass you in front of all of them. And it's not like you are so far off either. Just across the street, isn't it? " Peter said this very quickly and seemed very nervous about it all.

Peter's nervous nature was well known among the friends. He tends to stumble over words and say the wrong things at wrong times. But still, Peter suggesting this all of a sudden was a bit disconcerting.

Sirius just laughed about it and thumped at his friend back and said, "You don't have to do it Peter. Parties are good. Maybe you will meet a good girl you will like."

This got an expression of horror on Peter's face, while the others laughed about it. That broke the tension in the room.

With a little persuasion, the Potters bought the idea, and agreed to let Peter watch over the sleeping twins for the night. For some reason, they did not seem very comfortable with the arrangement. Especially Lily seemed to feel something bad was going to happen. She decided to be at the party for sometime and go back early.

Peter went back to the house, and the Ball began shortly.

Many renowned members of the wizarding world were in attendance at the Ball. Minister Bagnold, her entourage of heads of various departments, several lawmakers intermingled with the Blacks and Potters.

Sirius adorned himself in the finest robes with the Black family insignia proudly worn on his left bosom. Amy also outdid herself when she came into the Ball wearing a sparkly evening gown, with an over-robe thrown around her shoulders that dragged behind her. She seemed every bit a pureblooded heiress that evening, as expected of Lady Black. Standing along with her husband, the Black couple, with their son in Amy's arms and their official advisor Remus Lupin standing a step behind them seemed like a perfect pureblooded family in all its glory. Looking at them, one would have never thought they were the biggest bunch of blood traitors, going against every pureblooded norm that was ever followed. After all, appearances, not ideals were everything in that world.

ooo000ooo

_A Short while earlier, inside the Potters Residence…_

Peter stood in the twins' nursery. He successfully did the first part of his masters bidding. He did not understand what his master was planning. But he was summoned in the afternoon and was told that he will carry out his plan that night. Lord Voldemort informed him that out of mercy for his help, he will allow Peter this last favor. He told him to ensure that no one expendable be in the Potter household.

Peter was proud of the way he dealt with his friends. He may not like them in his heart, but they did help him through the Hogwarts years. He learned very early in his life that the only way to be protected against a bully is to be associated with the bigger bully. At school, the marauders were the biggest bullies. So, he found solace in being in their cohort. But in the real world, Voldemort was the biggest bully. What was wrong in associating with him for protection?

Still, he did not want to see his once friends killed. So he got himself into the babysitting duty. It would help his master greatly if he had his most faithful follower beside him when he acts out on his plan. He knew in his heart that whatever is going to happen that night was monumentally important for the Dark Lord. If he was right beside the dark lord, he could get a piece of greatness himself.

He felt a sharp pain through his dark mark and closely followed by a soft knock on the back door. He knew the Dark Lord has arrived. _"Time to embrace greatness"_ he thought as he went downstairs to open the door.

ooo000ooo

_A little while earliar outside Potters Residence…_

Lord Voldemort thought through his plan carefully as he made way to Potters residence in Godric's Hollow. His research into every detail of the rituals he was about to do was impeccable. He would be completely invincible, and the work of great Salazar started over a millennium ago is about to be fulfilled. The Potter children are going to lay path of glory for him to walk on. He would achieve the power and greatness never seen before in this plane of existence. The blood traitors and rebels lead by the fool Dumbledore would not have any chance but to bow down before his greatness. That night would go down in history as the night that had rewritten the way of life itself. He would be the Lord of everything in existence. He planned for everything.

When his research into the clues he had yielded what he needed, he knew what needed to be done. He was just looking for the opportune moment to execute his plan. When he heard about the Black Halloween ball being organized across the street from Potter residence, where the most important people from the wizarding world would attend, he decided that it was the right time to achieve his greatness. He would show the wizarding world the true meaning of power.

He reached the Potter residence and noted the wards around the house.

"_Dismal"_ he thought disdainfully noting them. They stood no chance against the power of Lord Voldemort.

He carefully ripped a hole through the wards and stepped into them. It is not prudent to let the Potters know of his presence just yet. When his plan was successfully executed, they would know anyway.

He walked up to the house and sent a pulse through the dark mark. He let his minion know about his presence. He walked around and knocked softly at the back door letting Wormtail know where he was exactly.

He waited impatiently for Wormtail to open the door. Eventually when it opened, he walked into the house.

"What took you so long Wormtail?"

"I was upst-"

"_crucio" _he was in a good mood so he let it off after a very short time, and strode past the wriggling figure on the floor shaking his head. He cursed at the type of weak followers he had to depend on for greatness. _"Well, not for long"_, he thought.

He went up to the nursery, and tried to open the door. It did not budge. He recognized the locking charm that required one's magical signature to be keyed in, in order to open the door. He cursed the stupid mudblood that persisted in standing hurdles in his path to glory.

With a deep sigh, he blasted the door off its hinges. The door flew inside and banged against the far wall. Lord Voldemort strode into the room of his supposed vanquisher.

The twins both woke up startled by the bang and looked around the nursery. Little Harry stood up in the crib looking at Lord Voldemort directly, while Little Abby was so startled that she sat up in the crib and began crying out of terror. It did not help that there was a stranger looking directly at them.

Harry seemed to realize that the man was there to hurt them. He went across the crib to his sister and held her tightly, all the time glaring back at the stranger.

Lord Voldemort looked down at the children condescendingly. He noted the emotionally disturbed girl crying her heart out. _"Well, not for long"_, he thought. He also noted the boy holding her sister and looking back at him, _"or was it glaring"_ he thought with a mixture of amusement and resentment.

There was a shuffle beside him and he turned to see Wormtail walk inside and stand beside him.

"My Lord. The chosen one is supposed to be the girl"

Voldemort felt annoyed at his idiotic follower who was reiterating the obvious.

"Tell me about the boy, Wormtail"

"He is a strange one, My Lord. He never cries nor does he act like normal children. According to Potters, the mind healers think he is not right in the mind. They think he may be autistic." Wormtail replied.

"And Magically?"

"Potters told me that Dumbledore tested him for magic when he was born. They said he could not find a magical core. They think he may be a squib"

Voldemort's lip curled in disgust. _"Pathetic"_ he thought. Such abnormalities must be blotted out at birth. But nonetheless, the boy would serve his purpose in aiding Lord Voldemort achieve his greatness.

"Are you going to kill them, My Lord?" Wormtail asked from the side a little apprehensively.

"No Wormtail. I have better plans for their lives. Still, one shall die, while one shall lead me to my greatness." Voldemort said glaring back at the pathetic display of love in front of his eyes. Time to implement his plan.

ooo000ooo

As the evening dragged on, Blacks and Potters intermingled with the guests, exchanging pleasantries with the most important members of the wizarding world. There were just chatting with Headmaster Dumbledore, when Minister Bagnold's undersecretary came to them excitedly and said,

"Oh Lord Black, Mr. Potter. You have simply outdone yourself. This is an amazing Ball. I am sure everyone is having a great time. Let me convey gratitude on behalf of me and the Minister for showing us such a great time"

"Why, thank you, Madam Undersecretary. It was an equal honor to have you in our party. I am quite happy that so many prominent people have taken time to attend my humble gathering. I should hope to get to know them better in future."

"I am sure you do. The Black family always has a very special place in our ministry, after all"

Sirius bowed his head and said, "You give me too much credit Madam Undersecretary. I do not know half the people in this party half as well as I would like to know them. In fact I am going to make it a point to mingle more freely among them from now on."

The message was quite clear to the undersecretary. Sirius Black plans to become active politically.

From the corner of his eye, Sirius noticed that Severus Snape walked over to Dumbledore and whispered into his ear. He further noticed that Dumbledore's face turned pale at whatever he heard. He along with Snape made way towards where Sirius and James along with their respective wives stood.

Before the Undersecretary could respond, appropriately to Sirius' comment, the sky lit up with magical sparks to the west.

"Oh ho. Lord Black, I did not know that the evening amusements included fireworks as well" she said clapping her hands lightly.

Sirius looked over to his friend James and then at Dumbledore with apprehension. "Neither did I" he muttered softly as he walked over towards the brightly lit sky.

He walked as an ash faced Dumbledore joined them.

"What is causing you such distress Professor?" Amy asked from his side, noting that the old man was walking as fast as his age allowed him to.

Dumbledore looked at Amy once and then turned to Potters as he said in a soft voice, "Severus felt his other master close by. I fear what the dark side has planned"

All the friends nodded. They should have expected. With so many prominent figures at one place, it became an ideal target for Voldemort. If he personally attacked, the custom wards around Black property may not hold.

As they walked to the front, they heard the other guests speaking, "Most surprising. I do not see where the fireworks are shot from. We just see the results. Such a charming display of magic"

As they looked towards the direction of fireworks, their stomachs gave a jolt. The light show was coming from inside the Potters' house. More specifically, from the nursery window.

All the friends, along with Dumbledore broke into a run towards Potters house. They were the only ones who could see the house that was under Fidelus charm.

They reached the front lawn of the house, when the most spectacular magical event to ever be seen by a mortal had occurred.

They saw a great pillar of fire fall from the sky and onto the north-eastern edge of the house. Right where the nursery was. As they watched, fire seemed to shoot around in every direction from the pillar. Several strands of fire then wrapped around the pillar and began spinning around at a great speed. They could see so many colors in that fire that for a few moments they felt rooted at the spot where they stood. The fire grew brighter as the moments stretched, until it was so bright that they had to cover their eyes for protection. The great pillar of fire almost seemed alive and breathing in its majesty. They could feel the heat of the fire on their face and the blinding brightness lit up the sky. They heard a series of cracks as they felt the custom wards around the Potter residence snap under the magical duress.

Lily snapped out of the daze first, as she broke into run towards the house. Closely following her, James, Remus, Sirius and Dumbledore ran into the house and up the stairs towards the nursery. The sight they met almost stopped the hearts of the young parents.

The pillar of fire had grounded right at the place where they knew the crib for the children was. The fire seemed to totally encompass that corner. They could see neither the crib nor its occupants through the bright fire.

It took a moment for them to realize that they were not alone in the house. They noted the proud and deadly form of Lord Voldemort with his back arched, wand aloft in right hand, and his long hair rippling behind his head as he stood in front of the fire with his left hand shielding his eyes. Right beside him, stood the man they thought of as a friend for half their lives. Wormtail. He seemed to have led Voldemort right into the Potter twins' nursery.

They tried to pass through the nursery door when they found that there was some sort of magical energy that stopped them from entering. Dumbledore immediately began working on the ward, as the others watched helplessly into the room.

James and Lily watched in desperation as something unknown was happening to their children, but they could not do anything about it. The young parents, along with Sirius and Remus began throwing every type of shield and ward piercer they could think of at the doorway hoping to get inside to help the children. They were not even sure if the children were alive.

They suddenly saw Voldemort straighten up in some sort of resolve, and he uttered the words that stopped hearts of everyone on the other side of the doorway.

"_Avada Kedavra" _he shouted, aiming directly at where they knew the crib was, as Lily cried out in emotional pain. It was well known that there was no shield that could stop the killing curse.

The spell hit the spinning fire right in the middle. The Marauders and Dumbledore expected the curse to penetrate the fire, and hit randomly inside.

But, rather than going through, its green light got sucked into the fire and they could see the curse spin along with the fire around the pillar. It turned around the pillar couple of times, and blasted back at Voldmort's direction.

The surprised form of Voldemort quickly dropped to the ground letting the rebound curse go over his head. Directly at the doorway where five people were franticly working on the ward.

To the surprise of the onlookers, the curse splashed across the magical ward on the doorway, causing ripples, and glowed in an ethereal blue green light, before completely dying.

Nobody had time to contemplate on what happened, when they heard an ethereal voice coming out from every direction and no direction at all. It was a voice that was fused with thousands of individual voices, neither male nor female, neither old nor young.

"BE GONE DARK STRAGGLER. MY EMISSARIUS IS NOT YOURS TO TAKE. THE TASK IS NOT DONE YET. BE GONE OR FACE MY WRATH"

It was a voice filled with so much awe and command that even people outside the doorway felt chills go up their spine. The threat directed at Voldemort was quite clear, and they knew whatever the voice was, it had no qualms about acting on the threat.

One look at Voldemorts shivering contour was enough to tell them that Voldemort faced the full blast of fear induced by the voice. The covering form of Wormtail beside Voldemort was further proof.

Voldemort seemed to shake himself out of the fear, and got ready to fire more curses in the direction of the fire, when with no more warning, a strand of fire from the pillar lashed out and slammed into Voldemort's form.

For a second nothing seemed to happen, as the strand of fire connected Voldemort to the pillar. But the next instant, Magic seemed to explode from Voldemort's body in every direction. Dumbledore quickly acted as he erected the most powerful shield he could think of. Through the shield, the others saw that the magical energy guarding the doorway crack and fall apart under the impact of the explosion.

All the friends quickly huddled behind the shield Dumbledore erected. The explosion was so strong that the entire house shook under the duress. Judging by the painful expression on Dumbledore's face, he was hard pressed to hold the shield alive, as the magical energy lashed mercilessly at the shield. The energy escaped in every direction around Voldemort, destroying everything it came in contact with.

ooo000ooo

Several prominent people of wizarding world stood at the edge of the Black property, as they watched the display of magical energies on top of the house that seemed to pop out of nowhere under the fiery pillar from sky. They did not understand what was happening, but Minister Bagnold called for backup of unspeakables from Department of Mysteries, and Aurors from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They all stood gob smacked watching the great pillar of fire, and the explosion that followed a short while later. The magical surge slammed into the wards around the Black property, and after a bit of struggle, broke through. They felt the wards fall and the magic wash over them. Thankfully not a very powerful surge.

ooo000ooo

Inside the Potter house, the power of explosion had overloaded Headmaster's shield and he fell down unconscious. The rest held the shield for as long as they could, but the brunt of the force was absorbed by Dumbledore's shield.

All through the explosion, they heard tens of voices shrieking through the explosion. They could distantly make out the pain filled male voices crying out in hurt, until the surge slowly subsided. The voices also seemed to blend in until by the time the surge was over, there were two voices shouting in pain. Lord Voldemort's and Wormtail's.

As the surge died out, the friends looked into the nursery to find the fiery pillar still active, and the forms of Voldemort and Wormtail screaming and wriggling on the floor. Lily rushed into the open doorway without thinking for a second

Voldemort seemed to have realized that he was no longer alone, and forcefully focused himself through the hazes of pain. He lifted himself on to his knees and pointed his wand at Lily.

Lily got her first look at Voldemort after the explosion. He was injured beyond what could be humanly possible. His very skin seemed to be hanging off his body. His entire form was bloody, and his muscles seemed to be shredded to wiry strings, hanging throughout his body. His face was hideously bloody, but still clearly recognizable as Lord Voldemort's. It was clear that Voldemort was already terrified by what happened that night, but was operating on sheer willpower.

"_crucio"_ he cried out pointing his wand at Lily.

Lily readied herself for the pain that was sure to come… but never came. She turned her surprised gaze to Voldemort, to find him equally surprised, watching the wand in his hand.

"_stupefy"_ he cried out pointing his wand at Lily, in a voice that was quivering and filled with terror. Again, nothing happened.

Voldemort pulled a small medallion from his tattered robes and muttered, "Activate". But the portkey just glowed and nothing happened. At least the portkey ward seemed to be active around the Potters' residence.

Voldemort looked even more terrified at this, as he got up to his feet painfully, and bolted from the room. He ran as fast as his body allowed, past the surprised Marauders, out of the house, to the edge of the ward, and yelled, "Activate".

In clear view of Minister of magic, several members of wizarding world, unspeakables and Aurors, Lord Voldemort disappeared from Godric's Hollow.

ooo000ooo

Inside the house, Lily stood in front of the fire not knowing what to do. She did not know whether her children were alive or not, and she felt her desperation at her situation pushing her into hysterics. She felt the rest join her, as she did the only thing she could think of. She begged.

"Please. I need my children. Please don't hurt them. I can not live without them. Please" She was begging at the fire. She did not expect anything to happen, but she was beyond thinking about any reasonable way of helping her children.

That, however, seemed to be the right thing to do. As suddenly as the fire appeared, it disappeared from in front of them, bathing them in an inky darkness.

As their eyes became adjusted, they noticed the candles coming back to life in the room.

They saw in front of them a sight that filled them with happiness beyond words. They saw the pale yellow crib Lily had picked up from Diagon ally, intact, with two unmoving children laying in the folds of the bed inside.

Lily and James rushed towards the crib and each picked up a baby as they checked them. Both were breathing. They were just unconscious. They felt the tears of happiness fall out of their eyes without even realizing that they were crying. They felt the relief that their children had made it through the horror of the night alive.

They heard a whimper from behind as they turned around. Sirius was looking at the sniveling whimpering form of Peter Pettigrew on the floor. His right hand was clearly broken, judging by the crooked angle it was bent at. His face had many burns and bruises. And his eyes were completely burned out. They could clearly make out the hollow sockets where his eyes used to be. He was whimpering and was reaching out with his left hand, trying to find something. They saw that his wand was just beyond his left hand. He reached out and grasped the wand tightly in his left hand.

Sirius was the first to react as he stepped on his left hand. He quickly bent down, snatched it from Peter's hand and broke it in half.

"You wouldn't be needing it anymore, traitor" Sirius spit out in contempt.

The only response he got was more whimpering. Sirius was about to curse the man he once called friend, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Sirius" Said the tired voice of Dumbledore, who was enervated by Remus, "He will get what he deserves in the court of law. Do not taint yourself by cursing an unarmed man. With the type of injuries on his body, he will not be going anywhere"

Sirius visibly restrained himself from cursing the man. Eventually, he just turned around and walked away, as Remus conjured ropes that tied him up on the floor.

They turned towards the Potters, and the sight that greeted them took their breath away.

Lily and James stood beside the crib, each with one child in their arms with relief etched on their faces. But, what was surprising was the floor on which they were standing.

The entire floor of the room was blackened, and covered in soot due to the magical fires that raged in that room few minutes ago. But the corner where the crib was, was completely spotless. There was a perfect circle around the crib, where the great pillar of fire had once stood. Everything outside was covered in black soot, while everything inside, including the crib seemed untouched by any magic. Neither from the fiery pillar, nor the explosion that ensued.

Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus walked slowly towards the Potters, as they lowered the children into the crib.

Dumbledore, with his face bruised, wild white hair sticking out in every angle, and his half moon glasses nowhere to be found, stepped forward, looking at the Potters, and said, "James, Lily, If I may check up on them?"

"Please, Headmaster" Lily answered for both.

Dumbledore stepped towards the children.

The first thing he did was to cast a very careful _"enervate"_ charm on each. To the pleasure of everyone in the room, both the children immediately opened their eyes and looked back. Abby began whimpering and thrashing around a bit, but Harry seemed as normal as ever.

Dumbledore began checking up on them more closely, and noticed that Little Harry was completely unharmed, except he seemed to be very tired.

He turned his attention to Abby and immediately noticed a lightening bolt shaped scar on the forehead of the child, right below the tuft of red hair. Dumbledore checked up more closely at the scar, and straightened up taking a deep breath.

"What is it Albus?" a very fearful Lily asked.

"I am not sure I understand Lily, but what I feel from Abigail's scar is a very concentrated dark magic. I am surprised that she would seem so unaffected by it. As such, I can only think of one explanation"

"What, Albus?" James asked

"Judging by the voice we heard earlier, which I believe was Magic itself speaking, and the sustenance to the concentrated dark energy I sense form the injury Abigail has suffered and lived through, I believe we have found out beyond doubt who the "chosen one" of the prophecy is" Albus finished with a heavy voice.

ooo000ooo

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(A/N) Voldemort can not do magic anymore? What the hell? And, Sirius in politics? What is the world coming to… I hope the death of Voldemort was as grand as suited for the most feared dark lord of the century (not just a single spell rebounding). Drop me a line about what you think.

(A/N2) I wanted to write the Magic's voice in Latin. But unfortunately, I have absolutely no knowledge of that great language. With access to only a dictionary, I knew if I translated it, it would be more a butchered mess of words than have the effect I hope for. If anyone is good at Latin, and kind enough to translate the sentences for me, I would be grateful for the help, and update the chapter.

(A/N2) more teasers for all you good readers. I read somewhere that "Unlike Sherlock Holmes stories where his secret investigation reveals information essential to solving a mystery, a good detective story gives its readers enough clues to solve the case by themselves. At the end of the story, the detective merely puts them into right perspective to solve the mystery" I tried to follow that rule in this chapter **as much as I can**. I have revealed enough about how the story goes from here on (remember Voldemort is different from the cannon). See if you can figure out where I am taking the story.

(A/N3) I have read enough wrong-boy-who-lived stories where adults jump to conclusions based on what might have happened in the nursery. Here, in this story, the adults were right there watching the destruction of Voldemort's power, and yet … 

Thanks to everyone who has taken time to review the story. Please review and let me know what you think. It helps me lots…

Enjoy!


	7. Chapter 7: Aftermath

(A/N) Short chapter before the twins grow up.

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**Chapter 7: Aftermath**

_**1**__**st**__** Nov, 1981, Daily Prophet**_

_**He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Vanquished**_

_The perilous times of wizarding world seem to have come to an end and peaceful times on the horizon. Minister Bagnold, in a surprise press release late yesterday evening, informed the populace of Wizarding world that the Dark Lord known to everyone as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or You-Know-Who has been destroyed. As surprising as the news that the darkest wizard in over century has been defeated, the manner in which he was defeated is even more surprising. He was vanquished in the nursery of one year old Potter twins. "Oh! I saw him as he was moving away from the Potter Residence. He seemed like the death warmed him. He was so hideously injured, it is a surprise he was even alive, let alone walk out of the warded area. Dark Magic no doubt" said the Senior Undersecretary to Minister, Madam Gillespie._

_It is still unclear how the dark lord was defeated, but this miracle happened in the presence of a number of prominent members of the wizarding community. Supreme Mugwump Albus Dumbledore, newly named Lord Sirius Black, and the two Potters were said to have seen the event occur first hand, from outside the nursery door. "I was so scared, I thought I lost my babies. We were standing a few feet from the Dark Lord all the time, but we could not get through the warded door. I am just glad my family came out unharmed" said Lily Potter (21) having forced to live through the terrible ordeal. Well, Mrs. Potter, you are not the only one glad to about that. This reporter gives a heart filled gratitude to you and your family for ridding our world of the great evil, however it was done. We the wizarding world are greatly indebted to your family._

_**1**__**st**__** Nov, 1981, Daily Prophet**_

_**Wrath of Magic at Godric's Hollow**_

_The quiet and enjoyable Halloween Ball traditionally organized by the Black family became the audience for the rare display of Magical Phenomenon late yesterday evening. Black family's Halloween Ball is one of the widely respected events of a year, when several prominent members of Magical community intermingle amongst each other. This year's Ball saw the display of power in not just the political realm, but in magical realm as well. "It all began with a light show in the western sky" said Baron Von Brigade, the leader of opposition in High Magic's Wizengamot. "We thought it was the fireworks organized by Lord Black as evening amusements. But it soon changed when a certain Magical fire erupted in the sky. Amidst the fire, there were a series of cracks, and a house appeared out of nowhere, right below the fire" _

_The house mentioned by Baron is the residence of the Potter family in Godric's Hollow. Upon further investigation, it was found that Potters had at that moment placed their residence under Fidelius charm, which broke under the Magical fire. It is however not clear why Potters chose to hide themselves under such an advanced charm._

_Baron continued, "After sometime, there was a huge explosion from inside the house. We could clearly see the houses closest to the Potter's residence completely destroyed under the onslaught. It was only thanks to the custom wards around Black Residence that we were not harmed by that explosion"_

_The Unspeakables from the Department of Mysteries were immediately dispatched to investigate the occurrence. _

_Albus Dumbledore, the Supreme Mugwump of Wizengamot, who was inside the Potter residence while this phenomenon occurred commented that the fiery pillar was "Magic herself showing her wrath when one who is close to her was at harm". He did not elaborate much on that statement. This reporter understood as much as you, the reader, could about Professor Dumbledore's comment._

_**2nd**__** Nov, 1981, Daily Prophet **_

_**He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named bereft of his Magic**_

_While commenting on the Magical display at Godric's Hollow, It was found that after the tremendous explosion that occurred within the Potter residence, You-Know-Who was seen attempting magic, but failing to have any effect. Lily Potter, who was mere few feet from the downed Dark Lord after the explosion said, he "attempted cruciatus curse, and a simple stunning spell, but to my surprise, nothing happened." She added, "He seemed as surprised as I was at this" Does that mean the Dark Lord lost his magic? _

_Supreme Mugwump Albus Dumbledore believes it does. He said, "The Magical explosion that occurred was the Dark Lord's magical core exploding under the wrath of magic. It happened when a sliver of fire leapt from the fiery pillar and hit him, after all"_

_Several Unspeakables were not as convinced about this as the great wizard. "One's Magical core is bound to their life force. If one exhausts, the other goes too. Since the Dark Lord was seen walking away, I believe he is not quite dead" commented an unspeakable whose name remains hidden. _

_One thing is for certain, the Dark Lord's power seems to have been broken._

_**2nd**__** Nov, 1981, Daily Prophet**_

_**Betrayal of the worst kind**_

_While the Wizarding world celebrated the destruction of the Dark Lord's power, the family that caused this celebration does not seem to be share the excitement. The reason for their subdued enthusiasm is one Peter Pettigrew. Peter Pettigrew was, until the fateful Halloween night, one of the closest friends of the Potters. Head of Potter family, James Potter, and the Head of Black family Lord Sirius Black shared their seven years of Hogwarts with Peter, and had considered him as one of their family than just a friend. _

_It is not still clear about the Dark Lord's specific interest in the Potter family, or what made the Potters choose to hide from him. But from the sketchy details that are known, it is found that late last summer, the Potters hid their residence under the advanced charm called "Fidelius" (see _"the Charmed Works of a Vagabond"_, by_ Wallace Walburga_ for more details). This charm hides a secret in the soul of a secret keeper, who can only part with it willingly. _

_The Potters chose their life long friend Peter Pettigrew as their secret keeper. He willingly gave the secret up to the Dark Lord and led him straight into not just Potter's residence, but to their children's nursery. He was told to have stood beside the Dark Lord as he attempted to kill the children._

"_They were very close. The four friends _(one Remus Lupin included)_ were the worst mischief makers Hogwarts had seen in many years. But everything they did was just harmless fun. I could never have expected such a behavior from one of them, a Gryffindor, no less" Professor Minerva McGonagall of Hogwarts said. The closeness they felt with him made his betrayal even more painful. _

_Peter Pettigrew was grievously injured in the explosion that left the Dark Lord void of Magic. The Aurors on the scene had promptly led him to the Hospital wing in the dreaded Azkaban Prison. The deepest circle of hell is known to be reserved for the traitors and betrayers. Peter Pettigrew has a rightfully reserved place in the Hell-on-Earth Azkaban prison, followed by an even more justified place in the ninth circle of Hell for eternity._

_**3rd**__** Nov, 1981, Daily Prophet **_

_**Aurors round up of Death Eaters **_

_In the Aftermath of the Dark Lord's Fall, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement mobilized a substantial number of Auror forces all around the Magical Britain. Up until now, the rough number of the Death Eaters (followers of the fallen Dark Lord) and dark supporters arrested has crossed over a hundred. They had been led directly to the ministry holding cells until their trail in front of the High Magic's Wizengamot._

_The surprising success of their operation was attributed directly to the breaking of Dark Lord's Power. It is still unclear how, but when the Dark Lord's power broke, all the Death Eaters who took the Dark Mark (see Pg 3 for more details) felt a paralysis set in to their left arm. _

_This reporter was in the presence of one such individual. Winkus Oddpick was discussing the problems associated with Goblin Liaison, when all of a sudden he doubled over in pain holding his left hand. After a few seconds, he got up, but his left arm dangled from his shoulder like a dead eel. Upon further investigation, it was found that Mr. Oddpick had the hideous dark mark tattooed on his left forearm, which at that moment was very much inflamed. _

_Chief Auror Bartemius "Barty" Crouch, Sr. issued a statement that any individual who suddenly developed a paralyzed left arm is probably a Death Eater, and must be cordoned off immediately and notified at the closest Auror office._

_One unspeakable from the Department of Mystries commented that when the Dark Lord's Magic exploded, every link to the Dark Lord's magic must have been forcefully severed, thus causing this unforeseen occurrence. Though he was not sure whether this paralysis is temporary or permanent. He said, "A number of things happened that evening that were never known or written about till now. If we could understand what happened on that one evening, our understanding of magic in general would increase by many folds. Though we are no where close, I can only hope for such understanding". _

_This indeed is quite fortunate, in this reporter's opinion, that such a distinguishable characteristic would set aside the dark followers from the honest citizens of our community. We can hope the dark and evil times of the past are behind us and hope for a better future._

ooo000ooo

Albus Dumbledore folded the paper and set it on his desk with a sigh. So many things had happened since that fateful night few days ago. He still could not believe what he had witnessed in the nursery that night. With his own knowledge of magic, and the collaboration of Unspeakables, he was still no where close to understanding the occurrence.

To the surprise of general populace, a number of prominent figures of Magical community such as Lucius Malfoy, Walden McNair, Theodore Nott, Sr, etc were found with a paralyzed left arm the day after. They were all quickly taken to the ministry cells. Immediately, the family members of those accused began their pleas of innocence claiming Imperious curse. Dumbledore did not believe that argument even for a second. The binding of Soul, required for taking the dark mark, can not be done on an unwilling participant. Dumbledore tried to put his argument in front of the wizengamot, but the political power play and monetary exchanges over-rid his reasonable arguments.

Albus sighed. The Dark Lord may have been destroyed. But the evil in this world is long from being eradicated. The very evil that gave birth to one dark lord would soon take up its reins over the world, and there was nothing that could be done about it.

Albus thought deeply about the events that occurred on the night of Halloween. The _"Wrath of Magic"_ as he called it was quite spectacular. He still could not believe that the twins had come out alive from the whole ordeal. But the Magic's voice made it quite clear that the chosen one from the prophecy, this "Magus Emissarius" as was called, was under the protection of Magic herself.

He was very careful while conveying this information to people in the Ministry. He, along with the Potters had a private meeting with the Head of Unspeakables Algie Croaker, that very day, in which Dumbledore had let out the full contents of the prophecy, and the Magic's warning that night. He was sure that Croaker would use this information with necessary discretion.

After hearing the Prophecy and the Magic's Warning, Croaker agreed that this information should not be let out that easily. He also agreed with Albus that the Chosen one of the Prophecy has to be one of the twins. Croaker promised to continue a discreet research into the whole thing. But, in spite of all the discretion, the phrases like 'Chosen One' and 'Chosen By Magic' were heard around ministry and Daily Prophet in conjunction with the Potter twins (Abigail more specifically).

Albus got his pensive out, and stirred the contents with his wand. The tiny ethereal figure of Trelawney rose up in the pensive and intoned the prophecy. As he heard it again, Albus tried to figure out any information he missed out earlier.

The Prophecy talked about the Magic's Emissary to this world. The Magic's Warning proved that one of the twins must be this Emissary. The question is who among the two. He checked the magical core regularly of both Harry and Abby. He could still not feel Harry's Magical Core, while his sister Abby's Magical core greater than his own. Albus knew what was needed for destroying a dark lord. The fight one must go through. It required magic that was far greater than ordinary wizard's. That he found in Abby, but not in Harry.

As he thought about the behavior of the twins, he had to admit, young Harry has certain qualities that make up a hero. He had the loyalty and protective instinct of an ideal Hufflepuff. At times, he showed intelligence and maturity that was far beyond his age. But usually, he seemed quite unaware of his surroundings. He did not show understanding of basic things like, touching a hot surface burns, or walking barefoot in garden hurts, etc. Also, his shyness or unsociable nature around new people was very troublesome. In a battle, one can not afford to try knowing their enemy for long before attacking. After all, how can a person who dislikes being touched fight in a battle?

Abigail in contrast was highly opinionated even at that young age. She either liked something or disliked it completely. She was very sociable, and grasped new things like a sponge. Not just grasp them, but use them in a resourceful manner. Albus smiled as he recalled one incident in which, young Abby spilled her milk on the living room carpet. Albus was observing her out of the corner of his eye. He saw Abby look around ensuring the adults were not looking in her direction, and pulled a little play table on top of the spill area. She then grabbed a chair and sit at it playing as if nothing happened. It took almost a day and some foul smell of spoiled milk before any older Potter to figure out that there was a spill below the play table. Such was the resourceful nature needed for fighting evil and becoming a savior of the world.

Albus thought, sociability is very important in order to become a leader of light. One must be intelligent to identify new allies and form a bond of loyalty that can be depended on, at the time of need. He found that in abundance in young Abby, and almost none in young Harry.

Along with these traits, the one extra trait that Abby received that fateful night, was the wound on her forehead. It literally reeked of dark magic. He had never felt such concentrated dark magic at one place. He felt his skin crawl as he performed diagnostic spells on the wound. One should not be able to counter such dark influence. But Abigail does not seem any different under its influence. If any, she seemed to have contained it to one place in all. That type of sustenance to dark magic can only be achieved if one has equal or more amount of access to light magic, in order to counter the influence. After all, the prophecy talked about the emissary who would bring equality to the world. That quite obviously means the emissary must have light magic in abundance. That has to be Abigail, doesn't it?

Yet, as confident as he appeared with the Potters, he still felt like he was missing something. He knew in his heart that Harry Potter had a far greater role to play in future than he could tell at the moment. His mistrust in new people can be taken in the positive light as well, Albus thought as he recalled his friend Alastor Moody. But what of his dislike at being touched even by his parents? What of his lack of magic? What of his dislike at playing with others? What of his meaningless quirks like obsession with being clean, obsession with staring around, irritability at being tickled? What of his quietness? Isn't it normal for a one year old to at least say small words like "mama" and "dada"? Harry had not said one meaningful word till then. They thought he may be a mute. With so many negative aspects, how can one think of him as the prophesized savior and an emissary of Magic herself?

Albus sighed. Thinking about this all made his head hurt. What is your role Harry Potter?

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(A/N) There you go, Albus reasoning behind picking the chosen one. Are you convinced?

Careful reader should find at least one discrepancy, which in fact is a shrouded clue. You gotta take an event from the last chapter in light of some info released in this chapter to find it. A brownie point for whoever finds it.

This is a small chapter before we move on to more interesting parts of the story. The next chapter will give more insight into Harry's and Abby's Characters. I started on it, hopefully I will get it done over the weekend. _**Hopefully**_. :-)

Please Review.

Enjoy!


	8. Chapter 8: Growing up Potters

(A/N) I am sorry about the long delay in updating the chapter, but I had a lot of trouble with developing the characters of Harry and Abby. Any suggestions you have are most welcome. Also, do let me know what you think.

A slight warning, there are some sensitive, emotional (mushy) moments in this chapter (that were ever so difficult to write since I am a guy :-) ). In my defense, all I can say is, the chosen one is supposed to be a "devout soul" how can you be devout without being a caring loving individual?

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_**Chapter 8: Growing up Potters**_

… _the red eyes of Dark Lord Voldemort gazed down maliciously at the little girl sleeping on her bed. _

"_You are destined to defeat me? Stupid child! I think not!" He said as he raised his wand and pointed straight at the girl's head._

_With a cruel sneer, he spit out hatefully a spell that caused bright green light to explode at the end of his wand…_

Lily woke up from her sleep with a start. Her heart was pounding in her chest and when she looked down, her hands were shivering slightly. She looked around wildly, trying to figure out what happened. _That was a nightmare._ She told herself. _Nothing really happened._

She could never forget the horrific time on the Halloween night of 1981, when she came close to losing her children. The friend they had trusted all through their lives had brought their worst nightmare right into their house. Even as an unspeakable with years of experience, Lily could not understand what happened that fateful night. From that lack of understanding came the fear that, if something like that was to happen again, she would be as helpless as earlier to do anything for her children. This caused many a nightmares similar to the one she just woke up from.

She looked to her side and saw her husband sleeping peacefully under the sheets. She smiled as she gazed at his messy black hair. When she went to the Hogwarts, she never thought there would be a day when she would be glad to have woken up beside James Potter. Yet she was more than glad that day, and every day to have him beside her. James had provided the support and love that held her family together through those trying times. After Voldemort's defeat, the instant fame Potters were shoved into was far more difficult than one would imagine. There were a number of reporters and well-wishers who wanted to get as much information as they can from the family. Along came many other types of people who tried to use that time in some profitable way. There were people who offered to write books, magical research enthusiasts who wanted to gain some extra insight into what happened, and some more who merely wished to be shown as 'associated with the saviors'. James dealt with all of them in a very firm, but straightforward manner that impressed Lily to the ends. His approach of no-outsiders-at-Potter-Residence gained him many potential enemies, but James never budged. He always said, the experience where he almost lost his family proved how precious they really were, and made him ready to fight even gods to save them.

She lightly shook his shoulder to wake him up for the morning. James mumbled something, pulled the sheets over his head and went right back to sleep. Unlike her, James was never a morning person. Lily chuckled as she got out of the bed and over to the window. She always thought the morning time provided the best sights of the world. Especially after a rain during the night, everything seemed so clear and beautiful. It truly was a sight to behold. _Thank god, at least Abby took after me and became a morning person,_ she thought as she walked out of her bedroom.

The children's wing was towards the east end of the Potter's Residence. The corridor had two doors on either side and one door at the end. The rooms on either side were occupied by her girls, while the one at the end, which used to be the twin's nursery, was Harry's room. She stopped in front of the door on her left. There was a small board hanging on the door that proclaimed, "ABBY'S ROOM". Each letter was in a different color and many white and pink flowers around. Lily smiled as she remembered the day her children got that board from their primary school.

"_Muuuuuuuuuuuummm. We are hoooooommmme", came the loud voice of her four year old daughter._

_Lily, who was heavily pregnant at that time, winced at the loud voice as she slowly got up from her couch. _

"_Abby, don't shout so loud, honey. You don't want to announce to the whole neighborhood that you are home, do you?" Lily lightly admonished her daughter as she walked towards her. Abby ran into the living room, kicked off her shoes and hurried towards her with a small wooden board in her hands. _

"_Mum, see what I got" Abby held a board up excitedly. "Ms. Mandy made us do arts and craf's todaay, and she gave us craf papers and gules and scissors and everything and ask us to make something and we did this. See how pretty it is" Abby held the board up smiling widely. Behind her, Lily saw Harry pick up his sister's shoes and put them in the shoe closet. He then quietly moved over to his sister and stood by, with a bemused expression. Harry seemed as fondly exasperated with Abby's antics as her parents. _

"_Oh My! That is pretty" Lily said as she looked at the board._

"_Isn't it? Ms. Mandy said we should let it drieded and if you say yes, I can hang it on my door. Can I, mum, Can I?"_

"_Of course you can, honey" She turned to her son and asked, "What did you make Harry?" _

_Being quiet, shy, physically weaker and very different form others, Lily feared that Harry would be left behind in the primary school. Lily always thought the slight limp Harry walked with made him feel unwanted and under-confident. The limp, healers concluded, was due to whatever magical backlash that happened on that fateful Halloween night, and there was nothing magical they could do to fix it. That was another reason Lily hated Voldemort. He may have cursed her son for life with a weak leg._

_Lily secretly thought, this lack of confidence made him more introverted unlike his sister. He never made any new friends at school or play dates. It was hard not to worry about her son, who seemed more content (if it can be called) watching kids play than joining them. _

_Harry did not answer the question, but Abby did. _

"_This is Harry's idea, mum. He draw'ed the letters and I draw'ed flowers on the paper, and he cut them with scissors and we both put glue and stick to the board." Abby said in a single breath. As an after thought, she added with a huff, "He won't let me cut with scissors. I told him I will be careful, but he still won't" as she folded her hands with a pout._

_Harry turned his unfocused eyes to his sister and gave a small smile, which vanished as he turned to his mother._

_Lily was startled at that revelation. This was yet another event that proved his affection and protective nature. Just like everything he ever did that was out of his normal manner._

"_That is wonderful, Harry." Lily said slowly moving her hand to his shoulder, looking to see if he would allow, or flinch away. Very early, the Potters noticed that their son only let others touch him when he wanted. Everyone, except Abby, have to be wary of reaction when they tried to have any kind of physical contact. That day Harry didn't show any reaction, which meant he was alright with the touch. Lily took it a step further and bent down, kissed his brow. This got a rare smile on his face. _

_The small smile brightened his face, and made him look more beautiful then ever. The thought that she made him so happy caused her motherly affection to shoot through the roof. _

"_Tell him, mum. Tell him, I am not a baby. I can be careful too" Abby said with her pout in full bloom._

"_Well, you are a baby, Abby. You are only four." Lily said giving Harry a smile and a wink._

"_But… But I am older than him" Abby mumbled._

"_That's such a beautiful idea, Harry. How did you get it?" Lily asked with a smile. _

"_You were reading 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' story, and there's a picture of 'Baby Bear's Room' that Abby liked a lot. So we made it for her room"_

_Lily felt her heart swell with affection for her son, who noticed such a small thing. Something even she had missed. She reached down and ruffled his hair a bit, and turned to Abby. _

_Her previous disgruntle forgotten, Abby was all smiles already. _

"_Did you thank your brother for this, Abby?" Lily asked. This got a bigger smile on Abby's face and a look of horror on her son's._

_Abby nodded vigorously, as she put the board on the floor, and turned to Harry. She launched herself at her brother, hugged him tightly around his neck and smooched loudly on his cheek. With his eyes closed tightly and face scrunched, the expression of amusement, disgruntle, mixed with disgust was quite funny to look at. _

_But he did not push her away._

ooo000ooo

Lily opened Abby's door quietly and peeked inside. The sheets were thrown back and Abby was not in her bed.

With a frown, she pulled her head back and tried to hear if her oldest daughter was already downstairs. She could not hear anything. This could mean only one thing.

She walked over to her son's room, and quietly opened the door. The sight that met her got a smile on her face.

Seven year old Abby was snuggled beside her brother. She was lying on her side, her faithful teddy held tightly in her hands, her legs pulled up, and into her brother's tummy, while her brother had a hand loosely over her waist.

It was such a sweet sight, that Lily almost did not want to wake them up. The first few times she saw them like that, she took some pictures, and at that moment they were hanging on her bedroom wall.

She went over and lightly ruffled the hair of both the children. As expected, Abby woke up, while Harry just turned over and slept on.

"mor'ing muuuuuum" Abby said in a sleepy voice as she yawned and stretched.

"Good morning, Abby. What are you doing out of your room?" Lily asked.

Abby got out of her brothers bed and gave a quick hug to her mother. She said, "There was a thunderstorm last night"

Lily nodded. Since she was little, Abby was always scared of the thunderclap sound. But, unlike normal kids who would run into their parent's room, Abby went over to her brother's room and slept with him. Harry never objected either.

A full forty five minutes later, Lily was in the kitchen preparing breakfast, while Abby sat at the table chatting up. Harry walked in sleepily and plopped in one of the seats at the table.

"… so, Alfie said to Jake 'I told you to give me your Lunch money', but Jake was like bigger than Alfie, so Jake said, 'I will not give my money, and I want your money too'. And then Jake… Oh! Morning Harry, I was just telling mum about the fight Jake and Alfie had yesterday at school. It's such a big story at school, isn't it?" Abby said, talking a mile a minute.

"What story? They are both bullies. They both fought. They both got detention for a week" Harry said succinctly.

"Hey" Abby protested, "I was telling the story. Besides, you can't tell a story like that. You missed out soooo much"

"Either way, you two stay away from both Jake and Alfie, okay? They both seem mean boys, and I don't want you to get in fights with them" Lily sternly instructed her children, as she served them the breakfast.

Shortly, James walked in with their three year old daughter in his hands. "Morning Kiddos. How are you this fine morning? Ready for school"

"Great. Abby just can't wait to get to school, and watch boys fight" Harry replied with a bland face. Abby scowled at the last statement, while Harry, without an ounce of emotion on his face, simply stretched his hands, took his little sister and settled her in his lap.

Even though Harry was their son, Lily and James could never truly understand their son. He seemed extremely unsociable at times, while very affectionate, and even showed some mature sense of humor around their daughters. According to the mind healers, Harry might be autistic, a specific form of autism called "Pervasive Developmental Disorder", bordering "Asperger syndrome". But not a single diagnosis could identify all his characteristics accurately. So, the Potters, with help from Healers Tonks and Black (Amy, who got her healer degree) decided to just keep monitoring him closely and do nothing unless something happens. They just haven't decided on what that 'something' was.

Lily looked over at her son and found her youngest daughter leaning into his chest, hanging somewhere between the clouds of sleepiness and the land of wakefulness. James also looked over, and advised his son, "Feed her some breakfast, or she would never wake up." He chuckled and added, "I thought I was not a morning person, but I am nothing compared to this little minx" he said tickling the little girl, eliciting a few sleepy giggles.

Harry got a glass of milk from the table, put it against her lips, but before she took a sip, he pulled it off and put it on the table. This forced her to sit up and reach out for the glass by herself. Lily smiled at the inventiveness Harry showed at getting his sister to wake up. He was always very good at taking care of her youngest daughter, since before she was born.

_Four year old Harry and Abby were playing on the living room carpet with some lego blocks, while James sat beside his heavily pregnant wife. They were idly chatting, when Abby suddenly giggled pointing at Lily. _

"_What now, Abby? What's so funny?" Lily asked her daughter._

_Abby pointed at Lily's dress and said with a giggle, "You just peed in your dress, mum"_

_Lily quickly realized that her water broke. "James" she cried out. _

_James being a man did exactly what any other man would do in such a circumstance. He panicked. He jumped up pulling his wife along and cried out, "Lily, What do we do? Oh God, We got to get you to the hospital."_

_Lily knew she did not have much time, as she barked, "There isn't much time, Get Amy. She would know" James bolted from the house._

_While his dad was running around like a headless chicken, four year old Harry calmly got up, and instructed his sister, "Get Mum's bag in their bedroom. I saw them pack it a few weeks ago"_

_He then walked over to the fireplace, and threw a pinch of powder, muttered "St. Mungo's Maternity ward", and stuck his head in the fire._

_Lily was waiting impatiently for her friend to come, and did not notice what Harry was up to. _

_Amy ran into the house, closely followed by James, and immediately barked, "Go get your hospital bag, James"_

_Harry said from his mother's side, "Abby got it here" as he saw her run over with the heavy bag._

_Amy started at this, and said, "Oh! I should call the ward and make sure they are ready" _

_She moved towards the fireplace, but Harry again interrupted again saying, "They have the bed C-304 ready for mum" and he tied the green hospital tag around his mother's left hand._

"_Anything you did not do, kiddo?" James asked with an expression somewhere between panic and amusement._

"_The secure maternal portkey" Amy jumped and moved towards the fireplace again. This time, Harry did not say anything, but the fire turned green, and an orderly in scrubs, obviously from St. Mungo's, stumbled inside. He looked around and walked over to Lily. _

"_You must be Mrs. Lily Potter, then." When Lily nodded, he held a clean metal rod, and said, "Portkey leaves in two minutes. One other person can come along" James opted to come along, while Amy took the kids. _

_That evening, Harry and Abby were taken to the Hospital by Sirius and Remus. As soon as she saw her mother, and the crib beside, Abby got very excited._

"_Oh! Oh! I have a baby sister now. I am a big sister now." She sang happily. _

"_Great news Prongs. You are on the roll. Literally" Sirius said dropping huge wink. _

_Remus thumped his friend/employer on his head, and said, "Congratulations Lily, James. She is beautiful" _

_Indeed, the baby was born with tufts of black hair and hazel eyes. She obviously took after her dad. _

"_Abby is more excited about her than us. If the baby is anything like her big sister, we have a lot of fun filled nights to look forward to" James replied with a smile._

"_Yes. I have a baby sister. Now I can really play with my dolls and doll house, which Harry never plays" she finished glaring at her brother. Hearing this, Harry made an expression of gagging. _

_Abby turned to her parents and asked, "What do we name her Mum?" she asked excitedly._

"_We have not yet decided, Abby. I want to call her Sarah Jessica Potter, but your father wont agree" Lily tiredly glared at her husband._

"_That sounds so much like a name out of some soap opera. But what's wrong with Mary Elizabeth Potter? It's a good strong name, and one that was used many times in Potter ancestry." James argued back._

"_Yeah, but when was it? In the sixteenth century? That's such an old fashioned name" Sirius commented from the side._

"_See, I am not the only one to think that" Lily shot back, while James glared at his friend. _

_Remus looked at that expression on James' face, turned to Sirius and said, "Good luck, my friend. It was good to have known you this long. I will always remember you as the man who could never hold his tongue" The expression of horror on Sirius face turned to a scowl at this._

_In the meanwhile, Harry walked over to the crib, and stood beside his sister watching down at his newest younger sister. "She is so tiny" Abby commented from beside him. Harry nodded, and made to reach out for her. He put his index finger against her tiny tummy, and tickled her a little. This got a small muffled snuffle from the baby and she reached over and held Harry's finger in her tiny fist. She settled down quietly back to her sleep holding on to Harry's finger. _

_As the adults in the room watched on, Harry got his first genuine full blown smile on his face, complete with giggles. He almost felt giddily happy at his new sister. In his elation, he whispered, "Hope"_

"_What's that Harry?" Abby and Lily asked at the same time._

"_Hope" Harry repeated loudly. "Hope Genevieve Potter" He said with a smile, never moving his hand out of his new sister's tiny fist._

_Lily and James looked at each other for a second, before reaching the conclusion. "Hope Genevieve Potter, It is" James said._

ooo000ooo

Unlike Abby, Hope was a quieter child. Not as quiet as Harry, but she rarely got fussy. As long as she got what she needed, she was quite content. And her big brother was ready to provide whatever she wanted, whenever he was around.

As Abby had predicted, Hope loved playing with dolls and dollhouses with her sister, during which time, Harry spent his time as farther away from the girls as he can. But other times, all three played with each other well enough.

For sometime, Abby got a bit jealous of her brother spending more time with their new sister, than with her. But as time passed, she warmed up to the new baby, and the siblings grew very close. The older Potters were ever so happy about this.

As different as he may have seemed (or autistic), the older Potters and even Blacks felt confident about leaving the children with Harry in charge. They realized, when his protective streak showed out, he would do everything in his power to keep them safe, however much it may cost him. It showed up that very day in the evening, when the twins came back from school.

As they walked into the house, Lily saw that Abby had her hair tussled around, supporting her brother by shoulder. Little Adrian Black walked behind with his friend Ginny Weasley. The two youngest kids had guilty expressions on their faces, mixed with sadness.

"MUM!" Abby cried out.

Lily ran over and lifted Harry into her arm and laid him on the couch. He had many cuts and bruises on his face and hands. It seems he got into a big fight at school.

"What happened?" Lily asked as she got the first aid kit. She knew Amy must be at the hospital at this time, so she would have to make do with what she knew until Amy was back.

"Ask them" A very annoyed Abby pointed to Adrian and Ginny. "They started it"

Lily turned her face to the younger kids with a frown.

"Well, we didn't do anything. Jake tried to grab Ginny's Lunch, and I tried to stop him" Adrian replied looking down.

Abby exploded at this. "Did you even see how big he was" She ranted, waving her hands like a windmill, "He was huge. And you both were tiny. You would have been beaten to a pulp, if we hadn't come when we did. Did you stop to think that for a second before getting into a fight with ruddy Jake?"

Adrian hung his head down as he stood holding Ginny's hand.

"How did Harry get like this?" Lily asked cleaning a wound with the rudimentary medical spells she knew.

"Well, I tried to pull Jake away, but he caught me by my hair and tried to hit me" Lily's eyes widened. Abby quickly added, "But Harry came in the middle and punched him in the nose."

"And?" Lily asked with exasperation.

"We thought it was over, but Alfie joined Jake and they both started fighting with us. We didn't know they were friends now. Anyway, they both began fighting with Harry, and Harry was fighting with both at the same time. You should have seen Harry. He beat both of them up, until Alfie hit Harry on his weak leg"

Lily's hands quickly flew to Harry's right leg, to check on any injuries.

"It's a little sore, but it's ok. Adrian and Ginny has some bruises on their hands, you should check them" Harry said quietly.

Shaking her head at Harry's order of priorities, Lily turned her attention to the other two kids. While Lily was checking up on the other two kids, Harry added with a rare smile, "Abby blasted the two bullies with her magic. They were out cold when we came out of school"

"Did you Abby?"

Abby blushed, as Little Ginny giggled and put in her comment saying, "I heard the grounds keeper saying he couldn't wake them up"

Adrian added with a smile, "I don't think anyone in the school will come looking for fight with any of us now, what with Harry's fighting and Abby's magic"

"That does not mean _you_ should go looking for fights either. I don't want to hear any of you four getting into a fight ever again, understood?"

The two girls and Adrian nodded vigorously, trying to get away from any punishment Lily might give. But Harry didn't say anything. Lily prompted, "Harry?"

Harry looked at his mother with unfocused eyes and a small frown. He asked, "What if the bullies hurt them?"

Lily didn't know what to answer, so she settled for, "You go to one of the teachers, and complain. Not get into fight" It did not go unnoticed by Lily, that Harry asked 'what if the bullies hurt _them_' not 'what if the bullies hurt _me_' or 'what if the bullies hit _me_ first'

As she looked at her son she knew, if anyone tried to hurt the others, Harry would most definitely get into the fight, no matter what she told him at that moment. Lily did not know how else to answer her son, so she turned her attention to her daughter

"Accidental magic again, Abby" she asked.

Abby nodded, and said, "They were about to hurt us from behind, mum. I got soo scared, I couldn't think of anything else. It just… sort of … happened" she finished lamely.

"Well, that's why it's called 'accidental magic' now, isn't it?" As an after thought, she asked her, "Are you sure it was you? Not Harry?"

Abby nodded and said quietly, "I could feel it coming out of me mum"

"Alright, go wash up, everyone, I will get some snacks for all of you" Lily instructed.

As she got some snacks ready, she thought about the accidental magic from her children. Abby began showing signs of magic since she was two years old. Of course, from Dumbledore's assessment of Abby's power, it was expected. Even Hope began showing some random small magical bursts recently. But Harry had never shown a single ounce of magic till then. As much as she tried not to worry, it was quite hard. _What if he is a squib? _she thought. Living in the wizarding world, and their prejudice against non-magical beings, especially squibs, Lily felt worry welling up in the depth of her stomach. _What kind of future will her son have_.

This worry showed up every time any of her girls held a wand as well. Abby and even Hope got a few sparks shooting out of a wand when they played around with their parent's wands. But when Harry held it, nothing happened. No sparks, or magical bursts. It was as if Harry just held a piece of wood. At times, Lily saw a look of disappointment on Harry's face as he waved a borrowed wand. But this was one thing Lily or anyone could do nothing about, and that caused her motherly instincts to go crazy.

But, neither Lily nor James thought any little of their son for his lack of magical ability. James even made some new enemies at the ministry when they made some hurtful remarks about Harry's lack of magic. As much as it hurt him, James never blamed his son for any of those incidents.

_If such is the life of the father of a squib, how difficult will the life of a squib be?_ She thought as she saw the kids filing into the kitchen. She noted that Harry walked in with a greater limp, and was leaning against a walking cane every time he took a step with his right leg. All lily could do is sigh at the difficult life her son was forced to lead.

Lily began making some idle chat with the kids.

"So, other than the fight, how was school?" she asked. After the expected responses of "fine", "usual", "Ok", Abby said, "Oh! And Harry made a new friend today"

That got her attention. "Oh? That's great Harry. What's his name?" Lily asked excitedly. It was not everyday Harry would make a new friend, after all.

"It's a girl. Her name is Luna." Harry replied.

"And she is as weird as Harry is, anyway" Adrian put in from the side.

"Hey! Don't say that, Ady. That's not nice" Ginny admonished from the side.

"Hey. Don't call me Ady. I hate that nickname"

"Then don't say rude things!" the little redhead admonished.

"But, it's the truth…" Adrian muttered with a scowl on his face.

Smiling, Lily continued with Harry, "Tell me about her, Harry", to which Harry just shrugged. As far as Harry could understand, his new friend being a girl with name Luna defined everything that was there to be known about her.

That was another problem Potters observed about Harry. He really did not quite seem to understand emotions or mannerisms of people around him. For him, the world was quite simple. His family, and the rest of the world. Any emotion, other than love and occasional smile was purely impulsive. That did not happen quite often either. When asked to describe anything, object or person, all Harry would do is to explain their physical characteristics, but nothing about what he felt or the other person felt. He did not seem to grasp the importance of facial expressions at all. Amy spent many hours talking to Harry at times, and at the end, came to the same conclusion as the question she started out with. That she did not understand Harry Potter.

But Abby on the other hand, took it upon herself to fill in what Harry had left out. She said, "Her name is Luna Lovegood, and she's a blonde, and her dad runs a magazine, and…"

ooo000ooo

One weekend late December, the Potters got a letter from Albus Dumbledore inviting them for a brunch meeting at Hogwarts. The Potters knew it has something to do with the Chosen-One business, but were not sure what the headmaster actually wanted.

The day of appointment, Lily and James dropped their kids off at the Blacks, and went to their beloved school through floo network.

As they stumbled out of the fireplace and were dusting ash off their robes, the deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts Minerva McGonagall greeted them.

"Good Morning Mr. and Mrs. Potter" She greeted.

"Hello Professor. How are you this fine morning" James replied with an unnaturally big smile.

"I believe you are not my student anymore, James. So, you don't have to put so much effort into putting on an innocent act" Minerva responded with a smile.

James ducked his head hiding his blush. "Old habits die hard, I guess" Lily replied from the side with a smile, "How do you do, Professor"

"Great, Lily. It's been a long time since I taught you two. I believe you should start being a little more informal, and call me Minerva now" Minerva replied.

"Of course, Prof… Minerva" James said, then with a thoughtful face added, "Gosh. That felt so weird saying it"

Minerva chuckled, as she led the Potters out of the great hall, "Albus is waiting for us in his office. Let us go there"

In no time, they reached the stone gargoyle, and into the headmaster's office.

"Good Morning, Lily, and James" Albus greeted them warmly.

"Hello Albus. It has been a long time since we met. How have you been" James asked, shaking the old mage's hand

"As well as expected at my old age, dear boy" Albus replied with a smile.

They settled around the small table by the window and enjoyed the sumptuous breakfast the house-elves had prepared, while making some small talk.

Towards the end of the breakfast, Albus raised the reason for the meeting.

"I called you here because I wanted to check on how your twins are doing" Albus asked.

"Oh, they are just fine, Albus. They are doing well enough at school. Although Harry has some difficulties in classes, interactions and such, Abby is excelling. She even got a medal of excellence for coming first in her primary grade. She even takes care of her brother when he needs" Lily replied. Like any mother, she could not say enough good things about her kids.

"That is wonderful, Lily. And what about magical prowess?"

"Well, Abby has been having bouts of accidental magic more frequently these days" Lily simply replied.

"Since her birthday, would u say?" Albus asked curiously.

"Now that you mentioned, I think it is. There were occasional magical outbursts before, but the frequency grew after July" Lily replied

"As I expected" Albus replied with a smile, "She just crossed her seventh birthday. You do know seven is the most magical number, don't you? I expected Young Abigail to have this magical maturity"

"Another thing you are right about" James said with a smile.

"Nothing special or great about this, James. I am just talking from my personal experience. I myself had such maturity when I turned seven"

"What about Harry?" Minerva inquired from the side.

"None till now" James replied in a worried voice.

"So, it is as we suspected then?" Albus asked gravely.

"I don't know, Albus. Maybe he is a late bloomer" Lily quickly said.

But, from their faces, neither Albus nor Minerva seemed to share that optimism.

"I have never heard of any wizard who did not have a magical outburst by their seventh birthday. There is a reason why seven is so powerful, Lily. A lot of things in life are tied with and around that number. Discovery of being a wizard included" Albus replied in a serious voice.

Lily and James looked at each other and sighed worriedly.

Albus continued, "If Harry is what we think he is, you do realize what else it means right?"

"That Abby is The One?" Lily said

Albus nodded. "I believe it is time that we start magical training for Abigail"

Lily and James started at this. "She is only seven, Albus. Isn't it a little too early?"

Albus shook his head as he said, "Once she gets a means to focus her magic, her magical core will stabilize and will not have as many outbursts. Also, she has a great destiny to fulfill. I believe we must assist her in achieving it however we can. Teaching her magical theory, some spells, and tactics from this age will help her greatly on her way"

"Will Ollivander sell wands to younger children? I though Ministry monitors them very closely?" James asked.

"No. I do not think Abigail is ready for her primary wand yet. But, I was thinking of using a _Bacillum_ till she turns eleven"

"A _Bacillum_?" Lily asked.

Minerva responded for that. She said, "A _Bacillum_, also called magic rod, is similar to a wand, but does not have a core inside. So, it is not customized to a witch or a wizard. Anyone can use a magic rod to do magic. Runes on the inner side help act as a focusing device. But since the rod is not attuned perfectly to the wielder's magic, it can not focus accurately. So the spells happen to be low powered, short range and use a lot of magic. But it serves the very important purpose of stabilizing magical core in young wizards, and preventing unnecessary magical outbursts"

She added, "In fact, it is quite extensively used in the pure blood families to this day for tutoring their young ones"

The Potters looked at each other for long. Upon reaching to a conclusion through unspoken dialogue, they turned to the educators of Hogwarts. James replied, "Ok, Albus. But who will teach her?"

"Unless you have any objections, I believe Emmeline Vance is well suited for this task. She is one of my faithful friends, loyal to the light side, has experience being an educator as well as an auror." Albus suggested.

Having known Emmeline through Order of the Phoenix during the first war, the Potters really did not have any objection.

"Wonderful. I will contact Emmeline as soon as possible. She would also get a _Bacillum_ for Abigail's use." Albus looked at his deputy and found a pensive expression on her face. "Is there something you wish to add, Minerva?"

Minerva seemed very much uncertain about how to say whatever she was thinking about.

Upon prompting again, Minerva tentatively started, "Umm, what about Harry?"

"What about him?" James asked in confusion.

"How will he react to watching his twin sister do something that he can not?"

The Potters looked at each other before Lily replied, "I don't think he will mind it"

"Lily, James, Please understand that I am not trying to start any conflict in your family, nor am I alluding to hurt you in any way. But, I had been an educator for almost thirty years. I had been dealing with children of varying ages for even longer. And if there is one thing all children have in common, it is jealousy and resentment when they see someone do what they can not."

She continued, "Harry and Abby are twins. They had been sharing and doing almost everything together since they were born. Now, if Abby starts something which Harry can not do, I do not know where it will lead."

The Potters thought about what Minerva said for sometime, and then Lily replied, "Harry is very different from other kids, Minerva. He does not see the world the way we or even Abby sees. I am not sure if he even understands what jealousy or resentment means"

"But did you ever see him sulk when Abby does accidental magic?" Minerva asked.

"Never" Lily immediately replied. "If any, he seemed happier then normal when we talk about Abby's accidental magic"

"How about disappointment?" Albus asked.

Lily did not reply to that. A few times, she did see the look of disappointment when he was waving her wand.

"The seeds are there" Minerva said lightly.

The group thought about this quietly for sometime.

Albus finally said, "If he is not magical, wouldn't it be prudent to make sure he gets accustomed to being in the muggle world?"

"What do you mean Albus?" James asked sharply.

"As much as I like the wizarding world, I have to admit that the prejudice against muggles and squibs is far too prevalent around. How many squibs do you see around that have a good life?"

James thought about it. The only squib he knew was Argus Fitch, and he can not be called happy.

"Which is why, I believe that if he gets used to muggle world, it will help him greatly all through his life."

"So what? You want us to throw him away into the muggle world?" James asked quite annoyed.

"Please do not misunderstand my words, James. I am not asking you to push your family away. I would not do that to anyone, least of all you. All I am suggesting is that we find a way Harry gets used to living in the muggle world. As much as you care for him, you can not watch over him all his life. He needs to learn a lot of things by himself"

James deflated, "So what do you suggest?"

"A boarding school?" Minerva suggested tentatively.

"Neither Abby nor Hope would like that. He would be gone for too long. I don't want to break up my children" Lily said firmly.

"Do you have any immediate family who can take him?" Minerva suggested.

"The only family we have in muggle world is my sister, and I am not sure I want Harry to go anywhere near them" Lily said

"Why not live at our home, and attend a muggle school? I am sure Lily or I can take him to the school everyday"

Albus grew pensive. The Potters immediately knew something big was cooking up in his mind.

"Albus?" Minerva called tentatively.

"I am not sure having Harry around while Abigail is in training is a good idea." He said slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"As close as they are, I believe the presence of her brother will be more of a distraction than anything while she gets her training. And I do not think we can afford it."

"Distraction? You think my son is a distraction?" James immediately exploded.

"A lot rests on Abigail's shoulders, Mr. Potter. If the Prophecy were to be believed in totality, the entire future of our world rests on her shoulders." Albus said sternly.

"The Prophecies are never accurate anyway. Besides, Harry needs constant care. I refuse to push him away for any reason"

"Understand this James. I am not asking you to give up your son. I am merely asking you to make sure he is not around while Abigail's training is in session. What I am suggesting is not just for the good of Abigail, and the wizarding world, but also for the good of young Harry himself."

"What you are asking for me to do is to let go of one of my children, so that the other can get greater attention. I do not know how you understand it, but as far as I can see, that is called 'pushing my child away'. That I refuse to do" James said with conviction.

"James, I am sorry if my words seem hurtful to you, but please think of what you are saying. I am not asking you to give him away or send him away permanently. I am asking you to make sure he is not there only while Abigail gets her training. It is stupidity to place one boy's happiness for a short while ahead of the good of an entire world" Albus said heatedly.

James went deathly quiet on hearing this. He then responded in a cold voice, "Dumbledore, you are a great man, with a vision for a greater good of the entire world. But I am a small man, who can only take care of my family. And I will do everything in my power to care for and protect my family, _whatever_ is the cost" He finished eyes blazing.

Albus sighed rubbing his face tiredly. He did not have a response for that. Everything he ever fought for was reflected in James words. How can he ask the other man to do the exact opposite?

A short while later, Minerva voiced her opinion, "What if you place Harry with a muggle family for the weekdays where he can attend a muggle school, and spend the weekends at your home. With his family"

* * *

(A/N) Now the big question where I am kind of stuck… To Dursley or not to Dursley? Please let me know your opinion. Also, as weak as Harry may seem in this chapter, he will find ways to overcome his weaknesses in the future (in his own way). You just have to wait for it

(A/N2) Thanks to summersarebright for suggesting a way around my block. I wrote a small one shot Horror/Tragedy story called "The End" to try going around my block. You should totally check it out.

Please Read and Review! I love hearing your opinion.

Enjoy!


	9. Ch 9: Christmas Gatherings and Training

(A/N) Thank you everyone for the encouraging words and reviews. I have tried to take them all into consideration at every place, unless they go against my storyline.

(A/N)Wow, Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the last chapter. My ears are still ringing with "No Dursleys". A few reviews, really did touch my heart and I have decided to never break up the twins, nor the Potter family for "greater good" – I swear on the pain of my writing finger… :-) I even remodeled the storyline to never pull them apart.

* * *

_**Chapter 9: Christmas Gatherings and Training  
**_

Even after returning home, it took James a long time to calm down. He seemed quiet and collected a minute, then suddenly, his face would darken, and he would pace around the living room in spitting rage. One look at his father, and Harry seemed to realize something was not right. He took his sisters out to Sirius' house.

"Dad needs you" he said quietly to Sirius and Remus, who were lazing in the living room at that time. Frowning at this, Sirius looked over to Abby, who was also unnaturally subdued. She just shrugged in response to Sirius' unasked question. The friends immediately jumped to their feet, and along with Amy, bolted across the street to the Potters' house. The Kids remained at the Black residence until Lily came over to collect them… long after their usual dinner time.

When Sirius and Remus reached the Potters' living room, they saw James pacing the floor like an angry cat, while Lily sat in one of the couches with a red face and dazed expression.

They knew James and Lily had gone to meet the Headmaster at Hogwarts that day. But what could have happened at the benevolent leader's office? Cautiously, Remus opened his mouth, "James?"

"How can Dumbledore even suggest that?" James blurted out.

"Suggest what?" Sirius asked taking the seat on Lily's side. "Lily?" he urged his friend.

With a deep breath, Lily launched into their conversation with Dumbledore, and his suggestions. Even Amy's face darkened as Lily mentioned Dumbledore's description of Harry as a "distraction".

"How can Dumbledore even suggest that?" James asked for a hundredth time while his friends sat around, "Besides, does he expect us to give away our son just because he _thinks_ it's a good idea?"

"James, calm down. He just gave us his opinion. But that does not mean we should act on it" Remus said trying to cool his friend's temper.

Sirius laughed bitterly and said, "Here I was thinking only the dark families entertained the ideas like that. Really does make us rethink what we _know_ about the light side, doesn't it?"

"Well, to a certain extent, I can understand why Dumbledore suggested such an extreme idea" Amy said thinking deeply, "I mean, he is the man the entire wizarding nation of Great Britain turns to, for the fight against Dark Lord. Add to that, he did defeat a dark lord at the height of his power. But, in all honesty, he does not know a thing about bringing up a child. No less, a child with special needs."

"He is a headmaster of a goddamn school full of children, Amy. How can he not know about children? Can't he see that breaking up the twins would probably be the worst thing that one can do? Especially to Harry?" Sirius argued.

"Headmaster of a school, yes, Sirius. But of a school full of normal children. You have to admit, Harry is nothing but ordinary" Amy answered, with a fond smile.

"That he is" Lily said with a chuckle. "Every day is almost like a new adventure that is both exciting, as well as frightening at the same time. But I would not give it up for anything in the world." She finished with a frown

"I understand. But don't do anything rash about Dumbledore" Amy warned in a serious voice.

Over the years, all the friends could easily see what Sirius found attractive about Amy. It was not just the skin deep beauty, but also her shrewd mind. As she grew closer to everyone, she showed startling intelligence in understanding, gauging the personality of people and situations. And almost nine out of ten cases, her judgment was right on the mark. She admitted that she had always wanted to be a healer, and could not pursue her dream due to financial reasons. But with the backing of her husband and encouragement from her friends, she not just finished her graduation in general healing, but also finished her specialization in the most difficult of specialties – Spell Damage from Unknown Magiks.

"What do you mean, Amy?" James asked with a frown.

"James, you have to admit that, in light of the Prophecy, Dumbledore is the only one who can prepare Abby for what is in store for her. He will definitely do everything in his power to ensure she gets out of this mess unharmed. But if you show too much resistance to his ideas, he may find other ways that may not be in your best interest"

Lily and James frowned at that, not really understanding what Amy was going at.

"Understand this. James. Dumbledore may look like a benign leader, with a grandfatherly warmth around him. But he is a very powerful mage, and an equally shrewd strategist. You had encountered his warm headmaster persona up until now. But when it comes to planning the future of the wizarding world, he is a war general. And for a general, to win a war is the primary goal. Not the safety of a few minor foot soldiers. He must already have prepared a grand scheme for this war, and have already gotten prepared to make a few sacrifices to ensure that Abby succeeds in fulfilling the prophecy", Amy finished, leaving the others in a daze.

"Taking that into consideration, he seems to already think of Harry as a hurdle in Abby's path to destiny" Remus said with realization.

"Necessary sacrifice?" Lily said with her face red. But even as she felt angered at this deduction, she remembered Dumbledore's words.

"_It is stupidity to place one boy's happiness for a short while ahead of the good of an entire world"_

"But what do you mean about not doing anything rash?" James asked.

"Don't go on picking fight with him, or make him believe in anyway you show resistance to his grand scheme. At the same time, don't play by his rules, or lose sight of our priorities. After all, we need Dumbledore as much as he needs us. He is the best person to keep Abby safe, and prepare her" Amy finished grimly.

Both the Potters knew that was one hundred percent true. They knew that the Dark Lord was not gone. As soon as he gets enough power, he would first come after Abby. His ego would not ask for anything less than the complete destruction of the one who caused him the worst damage.

"So what do we do?"

"Nothing, I suppose. But you need to be more careful about your dealings. Your position is one of walking on the edge of a sword. You can not afford missteps. You do not want to be part of collateral damage"

"And how do we do that?"

Indeed that was the question. _How?_

ooo000ooo

The weeks leading to the Christmas were as busy as they were stressful for everyone. James and Lily sat down with the twins and explained to them about Abby's special magical training. Also, that she no longer need to attend the magical primary school anymore. At the mention of special magical training for Abby, she could barely contain her excitement, but the mention of getting pulled out of primary school got the mood down.

The parents paid a very close attention to how Harry reacted to this news. They tried to figure out if he was happy or disappointed or jealous (like their old teachers had suggested). But they could really not get a read of what was happening inside his mind. His face remained as expressionless as ever, except for a bit of surprise upon hearing that the twins would be spending their day training at different places.

"But, Mum! Harry needs me at school. You know how it is for him" Abby insisted.

"I know, sweetie. But your training is just as important as well. I promise we can go drop him in the morning and pick him up in the afternoon everyday" Lily said quietly.

"Still, what about the daytime?" Abby asked, "I don't like it" she finished with a pout and hands folded across her chest.

Harry looked between his parents and his sister, took a deep breath and said, "At least it's not immediate. Besides, Luna will be there…"

It was not clear if he was telling that to himself, or to reassure his sister, or her parents. But, nonetheless, he seemed to think the new setup would begin the next schooling year. His parents did not have the heart to say it immediately that the new setup is planned to begin next term, right after the New Year.

ooo000ooo

The Christmas morning dawned bright and sunny. With light reflecting off the fresh powder snow, it was a sight of happiness and life. Inside the house, various Christmas decorations littered across many walls. A good six foot pine tree was charmed to stand at one corner of the living room.

The family had spent almost three hours previous evening, decorating the tree to their personal preferences. Little Hope decorated the low hanging branches around the tree with enough ribbons, baubles, and confetti that one could not even see a single green pine needle through the decorations. Harry and Abby hung their decorations around the middle of the tree in a way that they thought looked pretty. The weekend before, they had visited a muggle mall for Christmas shopping, and saw a huge Christmas tree in the middle of an arena. They tried to reproduce that effect. But their hangings were a little misaligned in color as well as geometry. Considering their age and experience, James told them, it was a great effort. The adults hung a few tastefully placed decorations on the top branches of the tree and the golden spire. In all, the tree was a big jumble of decorations, and rather ugly. But it was a very accurate representation of the closely knit Potter family.

Unlike the other days, on Christmas morning, Hope woke up before the rest of the family. She ran into her brother's room, and jumped on his bed between the twins.

"Happy Christmas!! Abby! Harry! Wake UP! Its Christmas already! Wake Up!! We hafta open our PRESENTS!!"

Harry grunted in his sleep and turned over, while Abby opened one sleepy eye at her sister.

"Wassa time?" she croaked.

"It's Presents time!" Hope said excitedly, and giggled at her own wit.

Abby gave a glance to the clock on the bedside and groaned. "No, you dolt! It's still six. Go back to bed" She tried to pull the sheets up and turn to go right back to sleep.

"Aww, Come on Abbyyyy. I wanna see what I got for presents" Hope whined shaking her sisters shoulder.

Abby sighed and turned to her overactive sister. She gave a short glower at her brother who was sleeping undisturbed, and said to Hope. "How about we sleep for another hour, and when its time to open presents, you get to go first"

Hope scrunched her nose in deep thought, and quickly decided it's a great deal. "OK" she said lying down between her siblings. Abby gave another short irritated glower at her sister, and pulled up the covers so Hope could wiggle in under them. She turned towards her, put an arm over her waist and went back to blissful sleep.

That is how Lily found her children an hour later when she came over to wake them up. She couldn't help but smile at the scene. At the same time, she couldn't help but worry about what their future would be like, or if their mutual affection remains the same through the bitter times that were sure to come.

ooo000ooo

The Family enjoyed the Christmas morning with a hearty breakfast and a healthy dose of goofing around while opening their presents. It took almost until the lunch time for them to open all of them. As every year, Abby received a number of presents from many unknown but grateful and stupid people of wizarding world. Even after a number of interviews and public discussion forums, people seem to not understand that whatever happened that Halloween night has got nothing to do with Abby or Harry. Coupled with it, the whisperings of Abby being the "chosen one" made people lift her status up to a pedestal of a celebrity. It did not matter that the people who called her a "Chosen One" do not seem to know what she was "Chosen" to do. The family eventually got tired of trying to correct the stigma, and just tried to live with it. Abby however, like any seven year kid, loved getting the extra presents and affection showered on her at every public gathering.

After lunch, the kids went to their rooms to get ready for the party to follow. That year, the Potters agreed to host the Christmas party for all the children and their friends. It was an occasion all of them were eagerly looking forward to for many weeks.

At two O'clock sharp, the front door banged open and the Black family walked in.

"Uncle Sirius, Auntie Amy, uncle Remus, Adrian, Happy Christmas" Hope ran over, jumping over the living room furniture.

"Hope! Watch where you are going" shrieked Lily, while the twins followed their sister in a more sedate pace.

"There's my favorite Goddaughter. Happy Christmas to you too kiddo" Sirius said lifting Hope off her feet and twirling around.

"She is your only goddaughter, uncle" Abby said giggling.

"So? Who said I can't pick favorites just because I have only one goddaughter?" Sirius argued back, now hugging Abby.

"That's called _'Logic de Sirius'_. Don't try to understand it unless you want a headache" Remus joked from the side.

Hope Let go of Sirius and turned to Adrian, but he shrieked, "Don't!! Don't touch me so much. You girls have cooties. I don't want to get them" He said as Hope was trying to hug him.

"Really Adrian?" Abby said with a devilish grin. She ran over and hugged him tightly. The boy's face was twisted in absolute disgust, as he tried to push her away but Abby was not having any of it. "Happy Christmas, ickle Aidy-moo" she wished him and finished it off with a kiss on his cheek, to which Adrian made gagging noises.

"I didn't see you resisting when Ginny hugged you yesterday" Abby replied coyly.

Adrian blushed and looked down saying, "Yeah, well. Ginny is not a regular girl"

"RRRRReeeaally? I'll hafta remember that and mention it to her when she comes here" Abby said, as Adrian's face took a horrified expression.

"Children. Behave!" Amy warned with a grin.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but Amy beat him to it as she added with a mock serious look, "That includes you too, Sirius" causing him to scowl.

That got another round of laughs as they made it into the living room. As the adults met James and Lily exchanging pleasantries, the fireplace turned green. They turned towards it to find the Longbottom family spilling out.

"Frank! Alice! It's so nice to meet you again" Lily ran over to greet her best friend from school. Behind them, the short boy with a bit round face stood with a smile.

"Hello Lily. Thanks for inviting us" they replied

"Neville! It's so nice to see you again. Look how much you grew up. You are almost your mother's height now" Lily greeted the boy, who was blushing under the praise. "Not that it's much to begin with" Lily added slyly, causing Alice to go, "Hey! I heard that"

Neville walked over to the children, and greeted each one of them.

"Hello Abby, Hope. Happy Christmas", he greeted them with a hug. He shook Adrian's hand, and stuck out his hand at Harry with, "Hey Harry. Happy Christmas"

Harry just looked at his hand curiously for a few seconds, and then looked up at the smiling boy's face. He held his gaze long enough that the other boy broke the eye contact, pulled his hand back and began squirming a bit on his feet.

Abby put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder and turned to Neville saying, "Don't mind him, he's a bit grumpy that he did not get that new Martin Migg's comic book today." She continued, "So how far are you in Ms. Belshire's essay on geography of England? I am so behind, I am not sure if I will ever pass the class"

"Yeah! Tell me about it. I hate all the social studies classes. I mean, who would use that or math once we go to Hogwarts. I think Ron had the best idea when he stopped attending the primary school last term" Neville replied with a good natured whining.

Soon, they were joined by the Weasleys. The Weasley matriarch Molly came out of the fireplace holding a big package that immediately filled the room with the most delicious aroma of fresh baked pies and puddings.

"Hello Arthur, Molly. It's nice to see you again" Lily greeted them, and smelling the Weasley sweet delights, she added, "I would have said 'you didn't have to, Molly', but having tasted your cooking before, all I can think of is, 'I hope there is Molly's famous chocolate pudding in there'"

Molly blushed a bit but took it in a stride, "Oh! It's just a matter of time, Lily. Add another five years and a couple of more kids to your family, especially boys; your skill would be as good as mine"

That got a devilish grin on James face and an ashen expression on Lily. "Don't joke about it Molly. Three is more than I can handle. I get enough heart attacks as it is with the girls; and don't even start about Harry!" That caused another round of laughs.

"Lily, who else is yet to come?" James asked curiously looking around the party.

"Hmm.. lets see, the Bones and the Changs said they couldn't make it. Albus may drop by sometime. I think Harry's new friend Luna and her family hasn't come yet." Lily said with a frown.

"I hope they make it. I am curious to meet them. Especially the girl who has enough … I don't know, courage?… to befriend Harry" James chuckled.

The men, women and children soon formed separate groups as they began chatting about whatever suited them.

"Well, hello there little ones. You do not happen to know where the grown ups are sitting do you?" One red haired boy about nine years of age, standing beside his obvious twin asked the assembled children. The other children had long since given up trying to distinguish who was Fred, and who was George of them.

"Why? Do you need to get your diapers changed?" Ron immediately asked causing the rest to laugh out.

"Why, our little brother finally is growing up into his own." The other twin said with a smile.

"I know, dear brother. He is finally learning to be sarcastic without seeming constipated" the first replied wiping an imaginary tear off.

"We gotta help him however we can" the other said ruffling Ron's hair.

"Oi! Gerroff me" Ron said disgruntled. The others watching the siblings' antics could no longer contain their laughter as they all broke out into loud guffaws.

"Well, hello everyone" Ron said sitting down along with the others once everyone let go of their stomachs, they were laughing so hard.

All the red heads shook hands with everyone, getting the same reaction from Harry as Neville. But the twins were the only ones who were bold enough to ruffle his hair as they wished him Happy Christmas. Harry scowled at this deeply and replied, "Yeah! Yeah! Happy Christmas to you too… Bookends"

"Why, thank you, m'boy" Fred replied, and added "Been picking any more fights at the school lately?"

Harry shrugged and said, "No one important"

"Yeah, no one important. Just the Head teacher's son, Luc something-or-other" Adrian said.

"Well, I didn't do anything. He just happened to trip on my walking stick…" Harry trailed off.

"…the walking stick that Harry reported the day before to be lost" Ginny added

"…that found its way in front of the classroom door" Adrian added

"… through which the rest of the class had just passed, without tripping or even noticing anything, by the way" Abby added.

"… and did we mention that the class just happened to include young Harry also." Neville finished.

"Yes, well. It is my favorite walking stick. I am glad I got it back." Harry said with absolute seriousness.

"The best part was, Luc also concluded that Harry was behind it and picked a fight with him… in front of the entire assembly. The headmaster gave him two weeks of detention, and extra homework for the Christmas break." Neville said with a giggle, and then added, "I can bet my Herbology book that it was Harry's doing. But, for the life of me, I can not figure out how he positioned the walking stick so perfectly at that exact moment"

The twins and Ron looked at Harry's face with varying amounts of astonishment, as they never expected such a devious behavior from the quiet and goody Harry Potter.

"Well, dear brother. I think we have a new prankster amongst us. We should do our best to share our knowledge of the precious art to him too" the twins said with a laugh.

"Why do you think its Harry though?" Ron asked curiously.

"Well, Luc made fun of Harry's friend Luna the day before. He pulled her hair, called her rude names and even made her cry. The head teacher was right there, but won't punish him because he's her son. I think he deserved whatever he got" Abby finished with a sniff.

"Luna? Who's that?" Ron asked curiously.

At that time, the fireplace behind them turned green, and the last guests of the afternoon party arrived.

"Selena? What are you doing here?" Lily cried out.

Unspeakable known to Lily as Selena Gosworth turned to her one time colleague with a smile.

"Lily! I thought so! When Luna told me her new friend is a Potter, I immediately thought he must somehow be related to you." She came over to give a quick hug to Lily. "Oh! Hello James" she greeted and turned to introduce her family.

"This is my husband Xenophilius Lovegood" She pointed to the man in bright red robes, who had stumbled out of the fireplace and was dusting himself off. He had a wild mane of black and white peppered hair that seemed to have been held in place with great difficulty. When he looked up, it was quite obvious that one of his eyes was pointed a bit inwards, giving him a cross eyed deranged look.

He offered a nod to the assembled witches and wizards and turned to the fireplace looking at it quite intently. He gave a happy gasp and walked towards the fireplace as soon as the fire turned green.

A short petite girl with long blonde mane stepped out of the fireplace quite gracefully as though it were a portal, not the magical floo network that spins the traveler wildly inside. Xenophilius immediately was on the side of his daughter, brushing off the stray ash off her shoulder and robes. He then led her to his wife with a hand on her shoulder and a smile on his face.

"Hello Messrs. Potter! Charming house here, although you might need to think about your squimknowles infestation" he greeted the hosts.

"Huh? What?" James asked with a flummoxed expression on his face, causing Lily to slap lightly on his shoulder.

"The squimknowles are the tiny microscopic creatures that eat at dust mites wherever they encounter them. The result is overtly clean surroundings. Daddy is doing a short article about squimknowles in this month's issue" Luna replied, causing her dad to give a proud pat on her back.

"Well I would love to have a lot of that in my house then" Molly was heard muttering.

Selena watched her family with a fond expression and added excitedly, "Xenophilius has finally got his dream come true. He started his own periodical magazine. It's called _'The Quibbler'_".

Sirius immediately recognized it, and began, "Oh! I read the first issue last month. It was fun to read. I tell you, the articles were absolutely a load of … er, of interesting ideas… er, explored from a new perspective" he finished looking around, but not meeting any Lovegood's gaze.

While the others squirmed at the awkward situation, none of the Lovegoods seem to realize anything amiss.

Luna came over to the Potters, and wished them, "Happy Christmas, Mr., and Mrs. Potter. Thank you for inviting us" in a melodic voice. To the Potters' surprise, she walked up and gave a hug to Lily with a kind of familiarity that would not have suggested this as their very first meeting.

The Potters got their first real look at their son's friend. She had a pretty face, and pale skin that seemed even paler under her straight blonde hair that fell down loosely behind her – almost reaching he knees. Her wide protuberant blue-grey eyes and slightly upturned faint eyebrows gave her a kind of perpetual look of surprise. But what caught their attention was that while talking, she seemed to have a dreamy, far away expression in her eyes, as if she was watching something unknown to others that took much of her attention away from the moment.

"Happy Christmas to you too, Luna. It's really nice to meet you finally. I hear so much about you from Abby and Harry" Lily said returning the hug.

"Harry talks? I would have thought Abby to be the chatty one" Luna answered with a direct bluntness.

"Er. Sometimes" was all Lily could reply with a frown.

Luna stared intently at Lily for a few seconds, before saying, "The feeling of familial bond has meaning only when it is mutual. It just causes pain otherwise"

Before Lily could grasp the meaning of the statement completely, there was a cry behind her.

"Luna!" Abby cried out. She ran over and greeted her with a hug. Behind her, Harry walked over at a more sedate pace.

Luna let go of Abby after a short greeting. Noticing Harry, she broke into a smile and walked up to him. Before any adult could react, she grabbed him into a hug with a "Happy Christmas, Harry"

To the surprise of the on looking adults, Harry did not respond badly to the physical contact. On the contrary, he _smiled_ back at Luna, and _returned_ the hug. That was not something one would see everyday.

Harry pulled Luna over to the place where all the kids assembled.

"Weird" Sirius muttered, while the others just nodded watching the kids walk away.

Abby proceeded to introduce everyone to Luna.

"Hey, I think I have seen you a couple of times around the Ottery St. Catchpole, didn't I?" Ron asked Luna.

"Yes, Ronald" Luna replied focusing on a point just above Ron's head, "Daddy found this wonderful place to house his press and machinery near that village. Mummy and I did a lot of shopping in the village to stock up the place. I saw you and your family there a number of times" She answered turning to the other Weasleys. She turned to Ron again and added, "Last time I saw you, your mother was rubbing dirt off your nose".

That got the others snickering, while Ron's ears turned red. "Yeah, well. That was just one time…" he muttered turning away.

ooo000ooo

As the afternoon gave way to the evening, the various members of the party intermingled, some making new friendships and others remembering old times. The kids were engaged in fun activities in the front foyer, so there wasn't a need to keep a close eye on them at all times. Lily and Serena found time to sit together in Potters bedroom chatting about when they worked together at Department of Mysteries. More specifically, griping about the boss they had mutual dislike for.

"I swear, I felt he was about to fire me that time. And for what? I did not fill my time card properly. I mean, I understand being stickler for rules is appreciated, what with all the experimental magic we work around. But about timecard?" Lily said with an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah, Wilson turned very different from what I thought he would be. He was such a stickler for rules while we were in school too, but not like this. It's almost like the power went straight to his head or something" Selena said snacking on the trail mix Lily had prepared.

"You would know a lot of details about Wilson, wouldn't you? The way I remember, you two were quite a pair, those days" Lily commented quite casually, that caused Selena to choke on her snack.

"Wh-What do you m-mean?" Selena asked between coughs.

"I was in my second year when you were in sixth, Selena. You were my idol for the first few years. Let me get you a glass of water" Lily rose from her seat with a teasing smile. But before she could take two steps, she saw Luna walk towards them with a glass in hand. She smiled at Lily, and handed the glass to her mother. Selena took it with a thankful expression and emptied the glass in two quick gulps.

"How did you –" Lily started with a bewildered expression looking at Luna. Lily and Selena were sitting at the Potters bedroom, while the kids were in the front foyer.

Luna just shrugged and replied in a soft melodic voice, "I saw". She did not elaborate much on what, where or how she got there so quickly, leaving Lily even more bewildered about the little girl.

"Don't worry, Lily. There are a lot of things about this little bundle of joy that even I can not figure out. And I am her mother:" Selena said pulling the girl into her lap and placing a fond kiss on her cheek. This caused the girl to giggle lightly.

Lily was ever so curious about the girl who was not just able to befriend her unsociable son, but seemed to have a close affectionate relation with him. She wanted to ask her about herself, about how she became Harry's friend, how she was able to maintain it, how she reacts to his little quarks, and so many more. More so, Lily wanted to ensure the relationship did not hurt Harry, knowingly, or unknowingly. Without even realizing, Lily's body tensed up trying to understand the girl in front of her. She observed the petite girl for a few moments and then asked, "Can I ask you a question, Luna?"

"You just did." Luna answered serenely, but turned to face the older woman with a smile. Lily chuckled at the response, but suddenly found that the simple comment broke the tension in her.

"Luna, what do you think of Harry?" Lily asked

Luna looked curiously at Lily not quite understanding the older woman.

"Well, what I mean is, Harry is not like other boys in your school. He doesn't have many friends, and doesn't like to play like normal boys do. What I want to know is, how is he at school, and what you two do or play -" She trailed off.

Luna got a dreamy expression on her face as she thought about the question. She replied, "Harry is my first friend. Then Abby. For some reason, the other kids in school don't like to spend time with me either, and they always make fun of me. But Harry is not like that. He helps me when I need, and tells me if I am doing something others will make fun of later"

Selena took over and said, "Luna looks at the world in a different way than other kids her age. We never could figure out what she 'sees', as she puts it, but is always an easy target for bullies. It got so bad that we were thinking of pulling her out of the school. But then, she befriended Harry, and suddenly things were different. I am ever so glad of their friendship" Then she added, "I worry how it would be in future though when they change schools"

_Birds of a feather_, Lily thought with a smile. She turned to Luna and asked, "Helps you? How?"

"Well, I don't like math and numbers, but Harry gets it very easily. So he explains it to me when I don't understand something. Besides, he remembers everything from every class, so doing homework is easy when I am with him" Luna said with a smile.

"Oh. I didn't know he was so good" Lily said as if in a daze. Truth be told, she never really saw her son working on any school related subjects. He always said he finished his work during the play time after the school. The school allows an hour and a half of play time after regular hours, at which time Abby was known to play with her other friends. Since there were no complaints from the teachers at school, Lily assumed he did his work to their satisfaction, and thus did not need further scrutiny.

Luna shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Harry doesn't care about being too good. Besides, he only helps when I ask"

Lily smiled at Selena, then the little girl and said, "I am glad you are with him, Luna. I am always worried about him"

Luna turned a serious face to the older woman and said, "He wouldn't like the school next term when both Abby and I won't attend it with him"

"W-What? How do -? And what do you mean you won't attend too?"

"Huh? Why is Abby not going to attend?" Selena asked.

"Abby has been having trouble controlling her magical outbursts these days, so we thought of starting some basic magical training to stabilize her magic." Lily replied without giving out too much information. "But why would Luna not attend the school?"

"Well, we thought it would be nice for Luna to have education from muggle perspective too, so we enrolled her in a muggle elementary school starting next term. Besides, the quality of education in the primary school is truly dismal. It is more of a day care center than a school, I think. Just a place for kids to meet and spend time until they turn eleven. I want Luna to have a good education, even before she goes to, hopefully, Hogwarts" Selena replied, then added, "But I worry she may have trouble at new school, as she did before Harry"

"Oh" was all the bewildered mother could say. A sense of cold dread trickled into her stomach, as she thought about her son's future. "That's wonderful idea, Selena." Lily said slowly.

"So, Abby won't be attending the school with Harry for real?" Luna asked in a small voice.

Lily shook her head, "We thought you would be there to keep him company. If you do not attend the school, there is no reason for him to attend a magical primary school. But I am not sure which muggle school to send him to."

"So he really does not have magic?" Selena asked

Lily shook her head, while palming her face.

Selena took a deep breath, and said, "Well, what about Luna's muggle school?"

"I am not sure if Harry would make it through the Entrance process. Like I said, Harry is not what people would call normal"

Luna giggled at that. Hearing it, Lily looked up sharply with a retort on the tip of her tongue. But before she got it out, Luna said in a calmest voice, "If I could make it, Harry would not have a smallest problem at passing the Entrance exam"

"From everything Luna told about Harry, I have to agree, Lily" Selena supported. "Also, from what the Headmaster of the school told me, Luna was placed in the top 2 percent of the school. I think Harry may be placed even higher than Luna, if properly motivated"

ooo000ooo

The very next day, Lily, James and Harry left Abby with her new magical instructor, and visited the muggle school, St. Paul's Primary school. Selena also came along to introduce the Potters to the Headmaster.

"Well, what is your name, young man?" Headmaster Mr. Wordsworth asked in a gruff voice.

"Harry Potter" he replied looking around the office curiously. The office had a collection of many trophies and shields proudly displayed.

Harry wore a casual slacks and a button up shirt, leaning over his favorite red wood walking stick as he stood in front of the Headmaster's desk.

"A walking stick?" Mr. Wordsworth looked down at his bio-data form, adding, "At the age of seven?" he posed the question to the parents.

"Yes. Um.. well, you see," James stammered trying not to steadily meet the sharp gaze of the headmaster, "Harry was involved in an accident when he was very young. The healers.. er. doctors.. said it's nerve damage. Most probably permanent"

James, who stood toe-to-toe with even the headmaster of Hogwarts, found the muggle quite intimidating. His gaze had a piercing quality that put the others on edge.

"Not suited for sports, then" Mr. Wordsworth muttered, more to himself.

"Average grades, no social or extra curricular activities" he muttered more looking down the bio-data form, finally he said, "Tell me, Mr. Potter, why should we offer a seat in our prestigious institution? As you can see," he waved his hand around his office, "Our school looks for only the best. We further their growth and ready them to take distinguished roles in our society. I do not see anything impressive about your ward, which inspires me to allow him to even attempt our Entrance examination. Quite frankly, I am not even sure if he will qualify in it"

Hearing those words, the Potters hearts fell. "Well, Harry is a good student. He is full of surprises. Given a chance to prove, he would excel in any examination posed to him." Lily responded. "Besides, his best friend Ms. Luna Lovegood is already in attendance at this school"

"Ah. Yes. Charming young lady. High IQ score. She also scored very high in our exam. With right nurturing, I have no doubt she will be a great addition to our community." Mr. Wordsworth then added, "I have seen friendships between such dissimilar individuals before. They do not last for long."

The way this headmaster was talking about their son was quite painful to the parents. The only reason James or Lily had not lost their temper and began shouting was because, it was important for Harry to get admitted into the school along with his only friend, Luna. They knew that St. Paul's Primary school was a very reputed educational institution that had the best pass percentages at every grade. But to comment on the future of their son seemed a little too much. James opened his mouth to say just that, when a soft voice carried over from their side,

"Depth of friendship, Mr. Wordsworth does not depend on length of acquaintance, but on the breadth of friends' heart"

All the occupants of the room turned towards the voice and found, to their surprise, the still form of seven year old Harry Potter. Much unlike other times, Harry held his body stiffly, his walking stick held in front of his slightly parted legs, with both hands grasped firmly on the top. His facial expression was one of tightness, and his eyes seem to have an unnatural glow; the gaze held an intensity never seen before – zero'ed on Mr. Wordsworth's face. The Potters watched in amazement at their son's – first display of magic? Well, they did not know what to call it, if not magic. Or they hoped.

The headmaster turned his sharp gaze to the young boy and regarded him for a few moments. Much to his surprise, the boy never broke his gaze, and the challenge in his eyes was clear.

"It is a wonderful outlook, Mr. Potter, but such sentiments are meaningless unless all who are involved share it"

"Thus proving that you do not know all who are involved, and as such not in a position to opiniate" came a quick reply.

"And, I suppose you expect me to allow your admission based on your 'breadth of heart', do you, Mr. Potter?"

"Of course not, Headmaster. After all, the entrance examination set by your school board serves that very purpose. What I do expect, is to be allowed to take the examination your school board has _not_ put any prerequisites for"

The Potters who were watching the exchange with interest started at the boy's last comment. Very effectively, Harry has told the headmaster that he is but an employee, and as such does not have authority to stop him from taking the test.

"It is disrespectful for a young boy to talk back to a figure of authority, Mr. Potter. Such unruly behavior does not have place in our institution" Mr. Wordsworth all but growled back to Harry, who never wavered his gaze.

"Is it any more disrespectful than a headmaster of a primary school belittling a child in front of his parents? Knowing full well that the words hurt?"

At that moment, Harry did not seem a seven year old boy, but a much older and mature person, who was ready to defend his honor in face of unknown odds. The Potters could not believe what was happening in front of their eyes. They could not believe that their quiet son, with no magic, thought to be autistic, was so brilliant. He has practically broken all their presumptions.

At those words, Mr. Wordsworth also seemed to have realized that he was talking to a seven year old – and a very precocious one too, as it seems. He chuckled, making light of the situation, and informed the Potters, "Feisty one, the boy is. I would love to see what he is capable of. Messrs. Potter, I will allow your ward to take the Entrance examination, and if he passes with an above average grade, he shall be admitted." When the parents began protesting about 'above average' comment, Mr. Wordsworth cut in saying, "You are late, Messrs. Potter. New admissions are usually honored only at the beginning of new school year. Ms. Lovegood was an exception due to her IQ test score. If your ward meets those same criteria, he shall be allowed admission. Otherwise, you are welcome to wait till the beginning of the school year" he said with finality.

The Potters nodded. Mr. Wordsworth told them, "You have one week to take the examination. Let us know when your ward will be ready for it"

The Potters turned to their son, to find him staring at the trophies dreamily. The previous stiffness in his body and the magical glow in his eyes was not present anymore. He just seemed like the Harry Potter they were used to for the last seven years.

"How about right now?" he asked almost serenely.

ooo000ooo

The Potters, still in daze, reached home that evening. Harry had taken the exam, and for the first time in over a century of school's history, according to Mr. Wordsworth, a candidate had passed the Entrance examination with 100 percent marks. All his previous hostility forgotten, Mr. Wordsworth seemed ready to bend over backwards to have Harry in his school immediately.

As soon as they reached home, James pulled out his wand, handed it to Harry, and asked him to wave it. But with any number of waves, or touches, there were no magical sparks emitting out of the wand. As a ditch attempt, James got behind Harry, while he was not paying attention, and cried loudly into his ear. Higher emotions like fear and danger normally causes magical outbursts in normal wizards. James expected magical sparks to shoot out of the wand when Harry was startled. Well, Harry did get startled, but instead of getting sparks, he almost took James' eye out with the wand. That settled them down for the time being and the family sat for dinner.

After dinner, James took Abby's _Bacillum_ and stuck it into Harry's hand. James had him try it out for so long, yet with no result that even Harry got tired of it. Finally, Harry just dropped the _Bacillum_ into James' lap and went over to his sisters to play gobstones.

ooo000ooo

As the new year rolled in and the new term at St. Paul's started, the Potter household fell into a tentative routine. The Mornings and evenings, the family made sure to spent time together. After breakfast, Emmeline Vance arrived to take over Abby's magical training. With the training and regular use of magic, Abby did not suffer from as many accidental magic incidents as she did before. In the beginning, the one point of contention between Abby and her parents was that, Abby wanted Harry also to get the magical training. It took her a long time to understand and accept the fact that Harry may never accompany her in such training. The incident in Mr. Wordsworth's office had given the Potters hope that Harry may not be a squib. But any number of experiments yielded no positive results, and they had to grudgingly accept that the situation did not change.

Once Abby had gotten over the fact that Harry would not be accompanying her, she became a good student and took in everything Vance taught her with zeal.

Harry, on the other hand, attended St. Paul's with just as much zeal as he had in his magical primary school. He never put in extra effort Mr. Wordsworth had hoped for, but put in only enough work to satisfy his teachers without catching their attention. Unlike Harry, Luna maintained her position in the top 2 percent of the class since her very first exam.

Their Math and Science teacher Ms. Lee quickly became Luna's favorite, as she had a knack of explaining the subject Luna had most trouble with. The tips she gave helped Luna greatly improve.

As the first few months rolled on, it was not an uncommon for Ms. Lee to find the two friends together. They spent almost all their time together. Truth be told, she and the other teachers were very doubtful about this particular pair of students. She admitted that if not for their above average marks in all subjects, Harry especially, and Luna at many times, seemed potential students for a _school for kids with special needs_. But their persistent deposal of such presumptions through their intelligence endeared them to the level that Ms. Lee began taking special interest in trying to improve their academics. But, like the others teachers in teaching primary school, she found it very difficult to even understand them, let alone help them. _But that makes it so much challenging_, she thought.

Knowing Luna's and Harry's relative positions in the class, she subtly suggested that Luna help Harry in improving his academics. One day during the study hour, she noticed the friends together stooped over some books. She walked over to them, feeling very glad that they were implementing her suggestion.

"Afternoon, Luna, Harry." She greeted them.

Luna looked up from her books and greeted in a rather dreamy voice, "Hello Ms. Lee"

"I am glad to see you two applying yourselves constructively in your studies" she commented looking down at their books. "Oh! Math and Sciences. Boy, do I feel lucky" she said with a smile.

Luna just shrugged her shoulders, while Harry gazed at her with his haunting green eyes. Lee broke the gaze with difficulty, and commented, "I am glad to see you helping your friend, Luna."

"Oh! I am not helping him, Ms. Lee. Harry is helping me understand these L.C.F and G.C.D things. I have so much difficulty with them", Luna replied.

_Huh? That's new_, Lee thought. "Do you understand them, Harry?" she asked curiously.

Harry just shrugged in response, while Luna replied for him with a smile, "He knows it, Ms. Lee. He already solved the big ones at the end of chapter 24 as well"

_That's next grade Math!_ Lee all but shouted inside her mind. "That's nice, Harry. You must be really good at math, then" She fully expected him to blush at the complement, like every kid she had ever taught. But this one just gazed on. "How come you don't show that in your regular class?" she asked.

Harry frowned at this, and seemed to mull over the question for a bit. His reply came back, "I pass the exams"

"Well, you can be much better than that. You can get good grades, and if you do exceptionally well you may even win prizes"

Harry's brow made a frown as he thought deeper. "Does that mean if I do better in class I don't have to take exams?"

"Oh no, Harry. You have to take the exams. Maybe a few more to correctly gauge your aptitude"

"Will I not have to pass?"

"No. You do have to pass, Harry. You can't escape that" Ms. Lee replied with a teasing smile.

"So, if I do better in the class, I have to take same exams and I still need to pass them?" Harry asked, and Ms Lee nodded.

"But, I do that already" Harry asked with a curious frown on his face.

Lee almost fell out of her chair at the display of logic. It was one of the rarest moments in her life when she was left amused and proud at being outwitted by a seven year old.

Deep in thought, as she made to get up from the kids' table, Luna's melodic voice broke in, "Ms. Lee", she turned to Luna, "The distance from you to your father is just the same as the distance from him to you", with a frown, she added, "And it is the same path that leads one to the other"

Completely bewildered, Lee left the study room.

ooo000ooo

The only trouble the pair faced at school was from the bullies. Harry and Luna were called many rude names like "dummy duo", dorks, dweeps, etc. To a major extant, Harry and Luna completely ignored their jabs or hurtful words. The few times Harry did get into a fight with them were when the bullies got physical with Luna or made her cry. Such fights usually took a teacher to break them up. Unlike the bullies who immediately pushed the blame on the others, Harry would simply take Luna's hand, and walk away.

After one particularly big fight, in which surprisingly even Luna participated, a Parent-teacher conference was called. Lily and Selena met up with Ms. Lee to discuss the incident. Upon explaining what had happened, Selena commented with a smile, "This is the reason I feel glad that Harry is on Luna's side all the time"

"She is quite smart for her age. I have to admit, she made me see the truth and mend things with my father. I don't know how she knew about my personal life, but she did give me a sound advice"

"Well, you are not the only one she gives such advice to." Lily replied with a smile. "They make quite a pair, Harry and Luna, don't they?"

"Personally, this meeting is much of an obligation from the school's point of view. One look at those involved, and I can tell where the blame lies. But I want to take this opportunity to try understanding your children. They are quite unlike anyone I ever met. And I had been a primary school teacher for over a decade" Ms. Lee answered.

Lily and Selena looked at each other. That was a loaded question. Finally Lily replied, "Well, that is something we had been trying to figure out since their birth, actually. And we are no where near finding out. As far as we can tell, Harry is very protective of those he cares about, and Luna is one of those outrageously smart girls. They each keep the other grounded"

Selena nodded, "Luna used to have a lot of nightmares when she was little. About things she should not even know about. As the time passed, she stopped complaining. we thought the nightmares stopped. But I realized she just stopped complaining. She has always been very mature for her age"

Ms. Lee looked down for a moment. She asked in a quiet voice, "I may know a man who can help them both"

"Who?"

Lee said, "My father. He is one of the most prominent martial art experts in the whole world, and I believe he can help them achieve stability of consciousness. With the type of intelligence Harry and Luna display at times, I think they are just too confused about themselves. My father might help"

"But a fighting master?" Selena asked curiously.

"My father is one of the very few who holds the title _'Master'_ in over ten arts. His control on his chi is legendry, and I think that is what the kids need."

The mothers looked at each other and nodded. _Maybe it's worth a shot,_ Lily thought.

Ms. Lee continued, "But he is very selective who he imparts his knowledge to. Despite me being his daughter, he thought I was not worthy enough. So don't get your hopes up too high. Oh, by the way, If it is of any importance, you can talk to the Changs about my father. They are, I believe, quite prominent in your world?"

Both Lily and Selena startled at this. "What? How-"

"Chunhou Chang and my father's acquaintance go way back. I had known you were magic users the minute you walked into my room. My father taught me enough to identify the chi difference between normal people and magic users. But don't worry, your secret is safe with me" she winked.

"So, if your father's power is legendry, how come he lives here?"

"His power on his chi was so uncanny that he could move things around him just by its power. Before you jump to any conclusion, he is not a magic user. Chunhou and my father studied it for long time to conclude that. In fact, Chunhou called him, _'The first Muggle to do Magic'_ whatever that means. But, the temple he lived in thought he has some dark power, and banished him. My father however believes that fate has a reason for his banishment, and came here waiting for that reason to fructify"

ooo000ooo

Three hours later, Ms. Lee, the two parents and the two kids were standing in a very distinctly Asian stylized garden. In the center of the garden was a large patch of flat ground, and a medium sized house. The loud noises of the busy town just outside the garden were strangely absent in the middle. The house had its roof slanting, forming a patio in front of the front door.

A man sat with his legs crossed Indian style in the patio with his eyes closed and deep in meditation. He was dressed in Chinese suit, and had his long white hair tied into a knot on top of his head. His mustache and beard was long enough to reach his chest. But the white facial hair only seemed to grow around his mouth and chin, leaving his cheeks clean. Ms. Lee led the others to the man and stood silently.

She finally bowed with her arms held up in front of her in an obvious Chinese greeting, "Sifu Zhao".

"As many times as I teach you how to bow daughter, you never learn that you should not take your eyes off the person in front of you" He said in a gruff squeaky voice without even opening his eyes. Yet the voice had a certain power in it that truly demanded respect for the man.

"As you say Sifu, I am a slow learner." Ms Lee said in an equally strong voice.

"A slow learner daughter, is a dead learner" he answered.

They both regarded each other for a few moments, causing the others to shift on their feet feeling uncomfortable. Ms. Lee was the first to break the gaze and with a smile she kissed the man on his cheek.

The man, Master Zhao returned the smile and said, "Yeifei, what brings you here so soon"

"I have come to ask for your help, Father" she pointed to the two kids, and beckoned them.

"This is Luna. The girl who showed me the way back to you" she said quietly. The man immediately turned to the girl and regarded her in new light. With a nod, he turned to his daughter, who continued, "She has many personal demons that hold her true worth from being known"

Yeifei pointed to Harry, and said, "This is Harry. The boy –"

Before she could continue, Master Zhao raised his hand. "I saw the boy fight three others seven days ago." He added quite conversationally, "He fights poorly"

He then turned to the parents, and asked with arms spread, "What do you expect an old man like me to help you with"

Lily shuffled on her legs, "Er. We are not really sure. Ms. Lee said you could somehow help them, teach them –"

"I have not taken any new students for the last seventeen years. I have not found any worthy to take on" he said

He turned to Luna, "Tell me child. Are your demons with you even now?"

Luna frowned at this and replied, "The ones that caused me nightmares? They are always with me"

"How is it that you do not get affected now?"

"I am trying to learn to live with them"

"And, did you succeed?"

Luna shook her head. "But I must learn to live, lest I live no more"

Master Zhao nodded his head and turned to Harry.

"I have seen you fight seven days ago, in front of my house"

Harry simply nodded.

"There were three against you"

Another nod.

"Why did you fight?"

"They were hurting my friend"

"Was it their first time?"

"First time they were about to hit her"

"Was it your first time?"

"No"

"What happened earlier?"

"Some others were about to hit my sister"

"You could have ran away"

"Luna couldn't"

"You could have gotten some adults"

"It would be too late"

"Did you hit them?"

"I do not know"

"Did they hit you?"

"Yes"

Lily wanted to add on to it, and started, "He-" but never got to finish, as Master Zhao, without even turning to Lily, raised a stiff hand up. The message was clear, _"Shut Up, I am not talking to you"_

"How did you feel when you fought?"

Harry shrugged.

"Did you feel fear?"

"No"

"Why not?"

"Luna needed me"

"Did you feel powerful?"

Harry frowned as if it was ridiculous, "No!"

"Did you like hitting the other boys?"

"No"

"Do you feel bad for hitting them?

"No"

"Did you see how many attacked you?"

"Four"

"I counted three"

"Fourth went for Luna"

"Were you hurt after the fight?"

"Yes. They hit me on my right leg, because it hurts"

"Did you stop the fight when you were hurt on your right leg?"

"No"

"Because your friend needed you?"

Nod.

"Would you do it again?"

"Yes"

"If there were five next time?"

"Still"

"If they were hurting someone else on the road?"

"No"

"Why not?

"I don't know them"

"If your friend asks you to?"

"Then I will"

Master Zhao turned to the parents and regarded them for a few moments.

"I will take the two children and teach them what they need. For the girl, Tai Chi to center her consciousness, and Baguazhang to defend herself. For the boy, I believe a combination of Kalaripayattu to condition his mind and body, and Hung gar to fight and defend"

He simply turned to his house with, "I expect my students to be here at six tomorrow morning"

Lily suddenly felt overwhelmed by all this. They just came to Master Zhao to find if he can help. But the Asian master was now talking about teaching the kids how to fight. That was completely unexpected.

"Umm.. Master Zhao, sir, Harry has a problem. His right leg is weak and needs a walking stick to walk properly. I am not sure if he –"

Master Zhao, who had his arms held behind his back, was walking over to his house. He stopped hearing Lily's comment, half turned to her and said, "If his right leg is weak, we shall begin with making it stronger"

* * *

(A/N) you may have noticed that at times, Harry and Luna do not seem like seven year olds, but rather more mature individuals. Well, there is a reason for that. Parts of it are explained in this chapter, and a few can be gleaned from previous chapters. But the actual reasons will be revealed in future. _I hope! ducks head._

(A/N2) is it just me or did Harry seem like in "Avatar State" while talking to Mr. Wordsworth? I swear, I thought up this scene long before I watched that show! Really!

(A/N3) if you are curious about the martial art called Kalaripayattu, you can get more info about it from the links in my profile. The way Kalari warrior moves is exactly how I envisioned Harry in the future… oops too much info. Ye the reader, I order thee to forget that! :-)

(A/N4) Are so many author notes becoming annoying? Ok! I will stop now

Please Read and Review! I love hearing your opinion. Or in the words of one author whose name I can't remember, "My ego needs stroking and my conceits need slapping. Please review":-)

Enjoy!


	10. Ch 10: Three years gone

(A/N) This chapter had been a real pain to write. So many tiny details to take care of, and so many open and subtle emotions to depict… Read on. I hope you like it!

* * *

_**Chapter 10: Three years gone**_

_Three years it has been_, Lily thought rubbing her face and trying to push the fatigue away. _Three years_ _since the last life changing experience_, _and now this_. Indeed, Lily began counting the days in not just months and years, but also in the number of life changing experiences she along with her family go through. The first was quite obviously the birth of the twins, which was followed by Voldemort's untimely, but well appreciated defeat. The last one before Tony Wilson episode was the time when Harry began his muggle school and Abby her magical training. _The beginning of the fall._

After the fitful sleep that lasted only a few hours, she could not remain in the bed. Ignoring the fatigue and exhaustion in her body, Lily walked out of her bedroom and straight towards her son's room. She slowly opened the door and peeked inside, to find the boy laying still on his bed, and a small figure with red hair sitting on a chair on the bedside, with her head resting on the boy's bed. _Abby?_ Lily thought as she walked up to the figure. When she reached, she lightly touched Abby's Head not to startle her out of her sleep.

But it was in vain.

Abby's head shot from the bed and she jumped off the chair looking around with a dazed expression. Her face was flushed, the tearstains ran down her cheeks and her eyes were red. Her gaze finally found Lily. But rather than being relieved, her face paled.

"S-Sorry, Mum" She croaked out, "I didn't mean to-… I… I just wanted to –" her face took an horrified expression and she bolted from the room.

Lily was too startled with Abby's presence and her extreme reaction to react before her daughter bolted from the room. Shaking her head in resignation, she turned to Harry's bedside. She moved the bangs off his forehead and lightly kissed his brow watching his face for any reaction. But none was returned. He looked the same as the night before. Calm, cold and comatose.

Harry had never liked overt physical contact, and had extreme reaction to unwanted touch. Lily never thought she would miss that reaction, or any of his other quarks. Overt fascination with order and cleanliness, his insane urge to organize everything in some geometric pattern, his fascination with even numbers, never letting two types of food touch in his plate, etc., to name a few. But at that moment, considering his comatose condition, any of those would have been welcome.

"Wake up, Harry" She whispered to her son, "Please, we need you"

With her position as the head of the Department for Diagnostic Healing for Unknown Magiks, Amy was best person to diagnose Harry. And her diagnosis made Lily and James shudder. The boy was rendered comatose, and it is uncertain when/whether he would wake up. She told the distraught parents that being exposed to such an extreme magical backlash should have left the boy dead (_like Wilsons_, Lily thought), and that they should feel lucky since he is still alive.

With a heavy heart, she made her way out of the room, only to stop in front of the other twin's room. She could hear the faint sobbing coming from inside. Lily's first reaction was to burst in and comfort her distraught child. But she knew that there was nothing she could do or say that would ease the pain. In a small corner of her mind, Lily felt Abby deserved to be miserable for everything she had become. But the mother inside Lily quickly smothered the thought, and she entered her daughter's room.

She saw the girl had thrown herself on the bed and was crying bitterly.

"Abby" she said lightly as she approached the bed. She got no response.

She sat on the side of Abby's head and lightly stroked her hair. She said, "I know this is difficult you, Abby. But Aunt Amy is doing everything she can to help Harry. He won't be asleep for too long"

Abby either did not hear Lily or ignored her as she continued sobbing. Finally, Lily pulled her gently and sat the little girl in her lap. She wiped her tears and said, "Don't worry, honey. He will get better"

Abby watched deep into Lily's eyes searching them for earnestness, and finally asked, "Really?"

Lily nodded.

"When?" Abby asked with an expression begging silently for the truth.

Lily felt her own eyes prickle with tears as she thought about Amy's diagnosis. Watching her daughter's distraught face, she could not get herself to lie.

So, she said, "I don't know, baby" Abby's face fell hearing this. Lily added, "But he will wake up. I promise you that we will do everything we can to wake him up"

Abby kept quiet for some time, and said, "It's not fair. I wish it was me than him"

"Why would you say that, Abby?" Lily asked.

"Ms. Vance said when magical people go in coma their magic fights and wakes them up. Harry can't do that, can he?" Lily felt a bit stung at those words, but quickly squashed it.

Abby continued, "Besides, all people who keep sending me gifts and all, they will also be looking to help. Everybody pays more attention and works harder for me."

Lily could not contain her anger at those words, and pushed Abby off from her hug. One look at her mother's face, Abby paled.

"Is that what it is, Abby? That Harry is getting more attention because of his coma?"

Abby immediately shook her head, "N-No, Mu -"

"Is that how you think when your brother is sick? That people would pay you more attention to _you_ if you were sick?"

Abby's breath hitched as she tried to disagree, albeit unsuccessfully. "No. Mum, You don't understa-"

"What don't I understand, Abby?" Lily demanded as she stood up beside the bed "That you are more concerned about your fame than your brother's well being?"

Abby was shaking her head looking more distraught than ever, but Lily was far too angry at what her daughter had become to care at the moment, "You had bad-mouthed and belittled your own brother for so long, and now he is sick and you can only think of what people think about _you_? How many times –"

But Abby had enough, and cried out, "You don't understand! Harry got like this protecting me!!"

Lily stopped in surprise looking at Abby, who was now letting out harsh sobs.

"What?"

"You don't understand, Mum. Harry pushed me down and covered me so I don't get hurt. He got like this because of me."

Lily stood dumbfounded at her daughter's explanation. "If I had not been there, if it were not for me, Harry would have been awake now."

She looked up at her mother with eyes filled with tears, angry, yet pleading to believe her at the same time, "You don't understand, Mum. I was the magical one of us two and I could not do anything. Harry came between me and Tony, and pushed me down and – and – held me down, so I don't get hit by magic. It's not fair. I wish Harry had not come there mum. Then, even if I had been hit by magic, he would have been alright now."

"I couldn't do anything then to help him, and I can't do anything now either" She said pulling her legs up, put her head on them and began crying harshly.

ooo000ooo

It took almost an hour and two doses of calming draught to calm Abby enough to fall asleep. Lily now understood why her daughter was on Harry's bedside and her extreme reaction at being woken up. She blamed herself for Harry, and the guilt was just too much for the ten year old to bear. Coupled with it, the fact that Harry risked his life to protect Abby when she had been a right snob to him, made her guilt multiply many folds. When Lily tried to explain that no one blames her, she could not understand why she was not blamed when, according to her, she deserved it.

Lily sighed as she walked into the kitchen and began the morning ritual half heartedly, her mind miles away, thinking how different her children had become over time, how they grew apart, and yet, when needed, how they came together. _But at what cost?_ She thought as a tear rolled down her cheek. A ten year old lay dead, along with his family, her own son rendered into coma, and two, possibly three children emotionally traumatized. _How did it come to this?_

She heard a small meow from behind, and found Harry's pet feline, Stella gazing up at her.

"Morning, Stella" Lily said. She got a short meow in reply that never ceased to amuse her.

Long had it been since she thought having a conversation with this particular cat as a silly thing to do. The bushy white haired, blue eyed Birman cat was as intelligent as she looked beautiful. It was also the reason for the first falling out between the twins. _Would it be called falling-out if one side did not act any different, while the other side most antagonistic?_ Lily remembered quite well what happened that day.

_Harry and Luna walked into the living room quite exhausted after two grueling sessions with Master Zhang. As much as the Potters loathed seeing their son return home so very tired, they could not argue against the effect it had on the boy. After about a year under Master Zhang's tutelage, Harry held himself differently, walked and talked (when he did) different and seemed more reasonable about things in general._

_As promised, Master Zhang had begun his training by specific exercises that strengthened his right leg. Sure enough, as time progressed, there was a marked difference in Harry's walk, and within a few months, his walk was similar to the one with uneven length legs. Not one with nerve damage in legs. _

_Master Zhang then moved on to teaching the kids basics of mind and body conditioning, as well as coaching in the philosophy of fighting. "Fighting is the very last resort in settling any issue between two individuals. Not the first" Luna quoted her Sifu. _

_Abby always scoffed at this saying, "What's the point of learning to fight, if one does not fight?" she would ask, and the argument would go on for a long time. But one thing was for sure. Master Zhang very quickly became an integral part of Harry's as well as Luna's life. _

"_Hello Mrs. Potter. Abby" Luna greeted._

"_How was your training, kids?" Lily asked with a smile. _

_Harry simply shrugged and sat down on a couch, while Luna launched into brief description of their new katas. _

"_Well, how hard can a bit of jumping and running be" Abby said from his side, "it's not like magical training, right?"_

_A year ago, Lily would not have believed Abby would say something like that. But as her independence grew under Emmeline Vance's training, Abby changed. It was a change neither Potter parents were happy about. _

"_You can't say that Abby. Every skill is hard in its own way, and need its own diligence. You should learn to respect that" Lily explained her daughter._

_Abby snorted and rolled her eyes behind whatever book she was sifting through. She said, "Why would I need to do that? If someone attacks me, I can just pull my wand and blast them off. Harry needs all those skills only because he doesn't have any magic"_

_Lily grew angrier by the minute as she heard the insensitive remarks Abby was making. She was about to chide her, when Harry asked more out of curiosity than anything, "What would you do if you lose your wand?"_

_Abby just shook her head and replied, "That's just silly, Harry. Why would I lose my wand?" She then added condescendingly, "You wouldn't understand the close relationship a witch or wizard has with their wand" _

"_Neither would you, Abby" Luna answered with a frown on her face, "You do not have a wand either. You only have a Bacillum" _

_Rather than replying, Abby's face turned red and with a huff, she turned her face towards her book… Until a small meow was heard from Harry's side._

_The two Potter females turned to Harry, and found a small white kitten with chocolate brown face and tail jump on to Harry's lap. As they saw, Harry let out a long resigned sigh and began petting the kitten, eliciting more meows._

"_oooooh! That's such a cute kitty." Abby gushed as she moved over to Harry's side, petting it herself. _

"_Where did you get that, Harry?" Lily asked with a smile. _

_Harry shrugged again and replied, "She found me"_

"_What's that supposed to mean?" Abby asked._

"_For like a week or so, this kitty sat at Sifu Zhang's front yard and watched us train and stuff. And finally today, it just got up and came along with us." Luna gazed into the blue eyes of the kitten and added as an afterthought, "kinda freaky, actually"_

"_Why freaky?" Abby asked_

"_Well, since last week when the kitty showed up, every time Sifu Zhang passes it, he bows his head at her like in respect, and the kitty also like tilts its head at him." Luna continued, "Sifu told us, it's a 'Sacred Temple Cat of Burma' called Birman. He said he never saw a pure one this far from east"_

"_Do you like the cat, Harry? Do you want to keep it?" Lily asked her son, knowing another companion, even a pet, would be helpful for her unsociable son._

"_Doesn't matter. She chose me and wants to be with me" was what Harry replied._

"_Well Duh Harry! It's a cat. It is supposed to be a pet. And its soo cute. I can cuddle and play with it soo much. I want her!" Abby declared as she made to pull the kitten from Harry's lap._

_With the speed of a lightning, the kitten's personality changed. Its hair all over her body stood on its ends, and its face transformed into a menacing expression with its blue eyes blazing. Abby quickly pulled her hand back in fear._

"_She is a very smart animal, Abby. She chose to be with me. You can not just take her and claim her as yours" Harry said to appease his sister._

"_Why not! I always get what I want. And now, I want that cat" Abby said folding her hands and in a kind of finality. _

"_Don't be such a snob, Abby. You can not get what you want all the time. You have to learn to be reasonable" Lily admonished her daughter._

"_I don't care! I want it" Abby said stomping her foot._

"_Well, you can not. Learn to respect what others have and you do not. Besides it's your brother's cat, so it will be in our home. You can play with it whenever you want. And unless you want to be punished, I suggest you keep quiet"_

"_Fine! Keep your stupid cat" Abby threw her book on the ground, and stomped out of the living room._

That was the first inkling of a problem Potters got about their daughter. As any parent would know, to hear a child say _I always get what I want_ was the strong indication of a serious problem. The idea of Chosen One, the public admiration and gifts she got from strangers, her specialized magical training had raised her sense of self to the level of arrogance.

That was the beginning of downfall for relations at Potter residence. Her sense of superiority had deteriorated her relationship with her own sister, along with alienating some of her oldest friends, like Weasley kids. She liked to lord over others, and rub the fact that she comes from a far richer family than Weasleys, and the entire world acknowledges her with gifts. Being quick to anger, Weasley kids retaliated and the fights were quite gruesome. That in turn deteriorated her relation with Adrian Black as well who chose his friend Ginny over Abby. That, according to Abby, was equivalent to uttering heresy in a holy place.

To his credit, Harry did not change the way he was. He was as loving and caring as he always was with every one. He took great pleasure in simple things like feeding Hope her breakfast, or helping Abby clean her room or helping Lily with cooking (He cuts everything according to precise measurements, and never lets two different raw cut food touch eachother). His fierce protective nature of those he cares about was almost legendry in and around Godric's Hollow. It did not matter that he was only a kid, or that he did not have any magic; he would confront the biggest or the most powerful opponent with not a single thought if he felt any danger for those around him. He did not care that Abby at times was mean to him, or even made fun of him. When she needed him, he was there.

All the marauders, Lily and even Amy acknowledged the fact that despite his age, Harry was the standing pillar of their family. He gave meaning to the word family in his own unique way that no one could argue. Through example, he showed every quality a family needs - love, protectiveness, heart to forgive others mistakes, and urge to help with others problems showing no heed to the magnitude of their problem. As much as Lily did not like to think about it, she knew that, this very quality Harry possessed could very well have saved Selena from being put in a harms way.

_Stella was a very atypical animal, proving the saying that, unique individuals attract unique companions. Harry never treated her as an animal, rather as yet another person at home. Stella also seemed to understand what humans say and respond with a different type of meow depending on the situation. Her meowing responses always seem to make perfect sense in a particular context. There was no question in anyone's mind about the intelligence of the animal. _

_It was summertime and thus no school for the kids except their respective trainings. On a particularly sunny Sunday, Luna was visiting her friends and the kids were sprawled around on the living room rug. Harry was engrossed in some book, while Hope and Abby were playing a board game, with Luna watching over. Stella walked into the play area with her tail held up in the air. She announced her arrival with a short meow, and stood on the one side of the board, opposite to Luna. The Potter siblings occupied the other two sides of the board. _

_Abby scowled at the cat, which as usual ignored her. Since the first day when Abby tried to pull the kitten away, Stella never let Abby touch or play with her. Very much unlike Hope, and that became yet another cause of rift between the sisters. Also, when she looked at Abby, it was with an expression that screamed her disappointment at the girl. _

_But Hope was quite taken with Stella, and vice versa. They were partners in mischief around the house. They played elaborate pranks on other members of the house. Each such incident truly demonstrated the almost human-like intelligence the cat possessed. _

_Hope immediately petted the cat and scratched over her neck, while Luna greeted the cat, "Hi Stella"_

_Stella greeted back with a meow. She seemed to sense something else, as she jumped over the board ("watch it, you fur ball!" Abby shrieked) into Luna's lap._

"_meow?"_

"_What?" Luna asked the cat._

_Stella stood up in Luna's lap, with her front paws on Luna's chest and gazed deep into the girl's eyes, as if concerned for her._

"_Nothing, Stella. I am fine"_

_Stella tilted her head to a side and let out a sarcastic, "meeeeeoooow"_

_Luna sighed, "ok, fine. I am a little worried"_

_Stella continued gazing at the girl's face with head tilted as if saying 'talk to me'_

"_About my mum. Her boss, Wilson, is horrible with her, and she doesn't say anything to anyone. He keeps giving her dangerous assignments far above mum's designation"_

"_Me-meow?"_

"_Yeah. He is the dad of Tony Wilson. He is a horrible man. I don't know what to do" Luna sighed._

_Stella sat in Luna's lap for a few seconds as if contemplating, and suddenly jumped off towards the older people. She stopped before Lily, stood on her hind legs, resting her forelegs on Lily's knee and let out a meow to catch her attention. She then pulled at her dress towards the kids' area till Lily got up and followed the cat. _

_When Stella reached Luna, she let out a short but curt meow to Luna._

"_No Stella, I don't want to –"_

_Another curt meow!_

_When Luna nodded her head, Stella moved from between the two, and jumped into Harry's lap._

_Luna explained her fear to Lily, at the end of which, Stella let out another short meow that was directed at Lily. Fix it! The meow sounded as if._

"_What can I do Luna. Even though I don't directly report to him, he still has higher authority than me. Besides, who is Tony? I thought Nate had only one son with name Michael?"_

"_Tony is his son from his frist wife. He doesn't treat Tony well. He told Tony that his mum died giving birth to him, and if it was not for him, his mum would still be alive"_

"_That's horrible. Everybody knows it's not the baby's fault"_

"_Apparently Nate Wilson does not know. He married again, and Tony's step mum is not much different from his dad. I feel bad for Tony, and I am afraid for my mum. I don't know what to do" Luna finished with a helpless sigh._

_Harry was hearing this all intently from the side while stroking Stella's white mane. He turned to his mother and asked, "Mum, can you tell me how the hierarchy is organized in the Department of Mysteries?"_

_If anything but to humor her son, Lily explained the hierarchy of power in the department and where she, Luna's Mum and Wilson falls in it. Followed by it, Harry asked her specific questions about the head of the department, Wilson's relationship with his superiors, etc. At the end of it, Harry fell quiet for quite a while, while Lily spoke with Luna trying to appease her mind. _

_After a while, Harry asked, "If Wilson were to leave his job, who gets his post? And will he be similar to Wilson?"_

_Lily was startled at these questions. "What are you thinking about, Harry?"_

_Harry's brow frowned for a second and he said the words that almost defined him in the future, "I have a plan"_

_Wilson was a pure Slytherin. He does not care how many feet he needed to trample on as long as he went further up. So, when an ambitious or attractive research opportunity presented itself through any source (proper or not), he would immediately pounce on it. However, if there was any inkling of failure, he would blame it on his team and bail out immediately. It had worked for him quite well till then. _

_The plan Harry came up with was a classic example of _'bait and watch him burn'_ tactic. If Nate were to hear a rumor that a particular project under his control was not going well, he would immediately plan his escape from its failure. But if the department head received an anonymous tip about Nate's mismanagement, his needless endangerment, and dirty tactics, an in depth scrutiny into Nate's personal record would be called for, and there was no way he could survive that. _

_As it turned out, Harry's plan worked far better than anyone anticipated. Being impulsive in nature, Nate had immediately distanced himself from Selena's group(who were conducting the misinformed research). He went as far as bad-mouthing and belittling Selena's contributions and began spreading the word of blame against her in the department. However, the moment he found out that there was no real trouble in the project, and that they were ready to publish good results, he backpedaled. If he had left the issue there, no harm would have been done. But his Slytherin nature refused to let go of the good results without claiming a piece of the cake. The contradicting reports about Nate's work got the alarms blaring in all the department seniors' minds. Without even the need for additional tip, the department head had seen through his dirty tactics and removed him from his position. He made Selena the lead for the team. _

ooo000ooo

Lily felt herself smile a bit in motherly pride at what Harry had done. But it vanished immediately as results of that particular event fell into perspective. The incident with may have helped Luna's mother, but had degraded the situation of her friend Tony. Nate somehow concluded that Tony's presence had brought the bad luck onto his family that caused him to lose his job, reputation and his career. The bitterness and cruelty Nate had shown towards his own son turned the stomachs of everyone who heard about it. But the arcane rules of wizarding world where the head of family had absolute right over his family left the others with no legal standing to help the boy.

She was not sure herself what happened at the Primary school Christmas reunion. James and Lily, along with the remaining parents, children were in the main hall, when she heard a loud noise from outside. When they ran out, all they saw was a great ball of magical energy that quickly diminished into nothing. As the Potters moved closer to investigate, the first thing they saw was the bodies of four Wilson family members, quite obviously dead. A few yards to the bodies, there was another lump on the ground that Lily moved towards. As soon as she noticed the lump, she recognized the checkered pattern of the shirt she knew Harry wore that day. With heart thumping in her throat, Lily ran over, only to find her worst fear in front of her eyes. The twins were lying motionless on the ground; Abby was curled up in fetal position, while Harry was lying on top of her. Lily could not remember exactly what happened after that, until Abby woke up in St. Mungo's and she had the girl in her arms. But then the world turned upside down, as Harry's condition was diagnosed in detail.

ooo000ooo

_I hate February_, Abby thought grouchily. _Why do people have to get all sappy on the 14__th__? It's just another day,_ She thought as she walked out of the kitchen, away from her giggling, chatting parents with a bowl in hand. She walked into her sister's room, where she was sure Hope would be sprawled on the floor with her coloring books.

"Hope! There you are." Abby said coming over to her sister. She put the bowl in front of her sister saying, "You missed breakfast again! Here, have this at least."

"But, Abbyyy! I am not hungryyy" Hope whined.

"No. You are never hungry, Hope. But you still have to eat or you will not have strength to play. Now finish your breakfast" Abby chided her sister lightly.

"Why are we eating here and not in the dining room?" Hope asked pushing the cereal around in milk.

"Don't you remember what's today?" Abby asked

Hope thought about it for a bit, before she remembered, "Valentine's Day"

Abby nodded and said with a giggle, "Mum and dad are having a _romantic breakfast_ downstairs. Just like last year"

"Yuck!" Hope said making a face.

Abby giggled along with her sister and quickly made her way towards the door. "I am going to Harry's room for his exercises. Finish your breakfast by the time I come back" She added, "And no feeding your breakfast to Stella"

Hope scoffed and grudgingly began eating, while Abby walked out shaking her head.

As soon as Abby entered her brother's room, her entire demeanor changed. Gone was the smiling jovial expression, and in its place was the cheerless and depressing face. She dragged herself over to Harry's bedside, and sat down beside him, watching his expressionless face.

"Morning Harry" she whispered, as she touched his forehead.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am for everything, Harry." she told him for the hundredth time, as she did every day since the unfortunate accident. Then asked for what seemed like a millionth time, "Why did you do it?"

She shook her head and began the morning ritual of rubbing the muscle oil and moving his arms and legs about to keep the muscles and joints loose. Abby had never let anyone else to do this. She knew in her heart that she was responsible for Harry's present condition. Her own self-centeredness had blinded her, and made her forget the love and care Harry had shown throughout his life. Her most damnable offense, according to Abby, was not her negligence, but the way she belittled her brother with her insensitive remarks. Almost every day since Harry fell into coma, Abby had cried herself to sleep, sobbing bitterly into her pillow, begging for forgiveness. The sleep she got was no restful one either, since every snobbish, hurtful comment she ever made came back in her dreams, reminding her why she did not deserve to be at ease.

At first, her parents talked to her, trying to explain her why it was not her fault, and Harry would not be happy how miserable she became in his wake. They told her that they did not blame her, and love her as they did before the accident. Abby knew that coupled with their anxiety for Harry's state, they worried about her too. So, Abby chose to hide her misery and relieve them of at least that bit. She hid herself behind a mask of cheerfulness, and stress-masking potions that successfully fooled her family. The only ones not fooled were Luna (who visited them every day without fail) and Harry's Sifu Zhang (who made the muscle oil at his house especially for Harry). Their concern warmed Abby's heart for a while, but also reminded her how bad she had thought of them before.

She heard a meow and found Stella staring at Abby with her wide blue eyes. _Make that three who were not fooled_, Abby thought, as Stella jumped into a chair on the bedside watching her intently. Stella seemed to be one of the few who unconditionally forgave her for her past mistakes. A couple of days after the accident, Stella walked into Abby's room and jumped right into her lap. She calmed the girl in her own way with soothing meows and licks that showed her forgiveness, love and support. Abby had never felt more miserable in her life than at that moment.

"Hi Stella", Abby greeted.

As she finished the ritual, she turned to the cat and asked in a quiet voice, "Do you think he will wake up?" She got a confident meow that got a smile on her face. "I hope you are true"

Abby sat on Harry's bedside for almost an hour after that, holding a one sided conversation with him, telling him about everything that he was missing. She knew he could not hear her, but she was ready to do anything to redeem herself of her past mistakes. _No matter the cost,_ she thought.

ooo000ooo

Abby walked downstairs with an empty muscle oil bottle, to find her parents still at the dining table. They were joined by Sirius and Amy, and all four were holding a jovial conversation. Abby quickly put on her happy face and walked into the kitchen, Stella trailing behind.

"Hey there, Abby doll, and you fur ball" Sirius greeted them with a boisterous wave of his right hand.

Abby smiled at them, and turned to her mother, "Mum, can I go get a refill of the oil from Master Zhang?"

Lily looked through the kitchen window, "Its gloomy outside, Abby. Looks like it is going to rain. Why don't you just tell Luna to bring it when she comes?" Lily suggested.

"Yeah! It's such a glorious day to laze around, why do you want to walk for miles" Sirius put in with a happy smile, while Amy on his side was watching Abby with a frown.

"Well, aren't you supposed to encourage kids to be more active, Uncle Sirius?" she asked humorously, then added "Besides if it rains in the evening Luna may not make it. There is no oil for tomorrow"

"Alright, if you are sure, but take an umbrella. Do you want one of us to come along?" James asked.

"No. Looks like Stella wants to come along" Abby said pointing to the cat on the side of her legs. It let out a small meow in response.

"Freaky! Demon cat" Sirius murmured on the side, which even Stella ignored.

As Abby bid farewell and walked out of the house, she heard her Aunt Amy say, "I am worried about Abby –" she did not stay long enough to hear the rest. She knew, if anyone would catch up on her acting, it would be Aunt Amy.

A good hour and half later, Abby was walking back from Master Zhang's house, when the first lightning and thunderclaps started. Even though she was over ten, Abby never grew over her childhood fear for thunderclaps. It was during such times that she especially missed having her brother beside her.

"Should have taken dad's advice" she muttered to Stella as she lifted the cat into her arms, quickening her strides. In no time, the rain began pouring heavily and Abby was forced to take shelter in a small inn at the end of Stranghorn's Way.

The first impression she got of the place and its patrons was not a good one. They seemed a bunch of disheveled ragamuffins, and the owner of the place behind the bar was no different either. She cursed her misfortune, being caught up in a dingy place and a thunderstorm raging outside. She hoped she could Floo from the inn directly home, but looking at the scary bartender, she was not sure if it was the best idea.

After a bit of internal struggle, Abby decided to give it a shot, and approached the bartender. "Excuse me" she said timidly, "Do you mind if I Floo from here back to my home?"

The bartender did not even turn to her, but grunted out, "No Floo connection here. What do you take this place for!" He walked away muttering about not being a charity.

_Well, there goes the idea_, Abby thought as she stood at the doorway, hoping that one of her parents would pass by looking for her, and she could get back safely. Her presence seems to have been attracting attention from the unruly patrons, that Abby did not like one bit. The scary stories she was taught as a kid about stranger-danger began playing in her mind.

Abby held onto Stella tightly, who was looking around the people with intense watchful eyes. She was letting out low growls as she studied the people around. She finally looked up at Abby and let out a growling meow that clearly said, _lets go, I don't like it here_.

Abby could already hear some people murmuring about her, and she immediately bolted out of the inn. It may have been her paranoid state of mind, or her fear for thunderstorms, that made her feel like someone was following her. She stopped many times to look around, before hastening through the deserted road. The rain lessened, but the thunderbolts did not stop, and the feeling of being followed never left.

"Oi!" she heard from behind her that made her pause. A couple of men from the inn were making their way to her. "Lost, eh.. leettl' un. Well, let ol' mack 'elp ya get 'ome ta yer rich folks" one of the men said, letting out a laugh that sent chills up Abby's spine.

ooo000ooo

The Potters and the Blacks shifted to the living room, and were chatting idly about Sirius' involvement in the Ministry workings and the politics. Lily was just coming down the stairs, having just checked up on Harry, when she saw the fireplace flash green.

Immediately, James got to his feet, and his wand flew to his hand. Being an Auror, and a pupil of the legendry Auror Moody, paranoia was well ingrained into his mind.

But that turned out to be unnecessary as they noticed a huge mane of disheveled blonde hair on the girl that shot out of the fireplace, now lying on the floor.

"Luna" James cried, "Why didn't you call ahead? Is everything alright?"

"Hey squirt! You are early today. And did you notice that you are still in you pyjamas?" Sirius asked chuckling lightly. But the humor vanished when the little girl lifted her head.

She quite obviously had just woken up from sleep as they could still see the markings where her face rested over a pillow and her eyes were bloodshot. But her gaze was not dazed, for it held panic!

"Abby-" she started.

"oh! She went to your master's house to get the muscle oil. What's the matter, Luna?" Lily asked urgently.

"Abby! She's in trouble!"

"What?!" James cried out

But Luna did not explain. Instead, she cried out, "Go! Now! I _Saw_ her walking down the dirt road leading to Stranghorn's Way"

If it had been any other who said that, the adults in the room would have demanded details of such a proclamation. As such, they knew Luna well enough to take her word when she _Saw_ something.

James and Sirius bolted out of house, grabbing the broomsticks on their way out.

Lily approached the girl apprehensively and asked, "Luna, what did you See?" But Luna did not answer. Instead, she stood gazing at the door through which James and Sirius had gone through. When Lily walked in front of the girl, she saw a far away look on the girl's face. Her eyes were unfocused, yet her mind seemed to be focused on some unseen event.

Suddenly, Luna let out a surprised gasp!

ooo000ooo

Stella jumped off Abby's hands and stood on her paws with back arched, her hair standing on its ends, and letting out menacing growls at the approaching men. But the first man did not pay attention, while the second man calmly pulled out his wand and pointed at the cat. A spell shot out from his wand towards Stella at the same moment Abby let out a fearful cry.

But the spell never made contact, as a white lightning streaked from the sky and intercepted the spell few feet from the cat. The men and Abby were startled by the sudden appearance of the lightning and jumped back, away from the spot where lightning hit the ground. But Stella did not seem to even notice the lightning, as her gaze never left the men.

One step they took towards Abby, Stella let out a louder warning growl. But this growl was not like her regular feline voice. It was very loud, shrill and far more menacing than her regular meows! That got the men's attention.

Abby, on the other hand, was beyond afraid. Her mind froze up in panic and she could not think straight. The moment was uncannily similar to the situation two months before, when Harry got between her and those who wanted to hurt her. Only this time, it was his pet. She knew how that had gone, and was afraid of what would happen now. The guilt of not being able to do anything to help Harry at that time was already too much to bear, and if Stella got injured trying to help her now, she knew she could not live with herself. It was that thought that caused her to break into action.

The moment the men pointed their wands at Stella, she moved into action, and jumped in front of the cat crying out, "NO!!"

But the men had already shot some spells. Red and blue colored light was making its way towards her, while she could not do anything but stare at them in horror.

A loud, shrill cry that seemed more like an angry eagle's warning cry was heard, followed by streaks of lightning, _from behind her_, that collided with the spells mid air, causing an explosion of colorful magical sparks. As the sparks cleared, Abby looked up from her position on the ground to find a huge animal standing over her. The animal had stood protectively over her, with one of her white front leg in front of her, so the assailants could not aim directly at her.

The men seemed as afraid as Abby had felt not less than a minute ago. They did the most sensible thing they could think of, and started running away. As Abby watched on, two bolts of lightning shot out from somewhere above her and hit them, collapsing them into smoking heaps.

It took a couple of more minutes before Abby could collect her wits under the protection of whatever creature that saved her just then. Abby crawled from under animal's body and stood up to look at her savior.

As Abby gazed up with open mouth, she saw a great white eagle like head, an obviously feline body, and pure white wings on the sides. Each time the great beast flapped her wings, lightning shot off from its tips coupled with the sound of thunderclap. Abby had never encountered such a majestic creature before. Abby guessed the beast was almost seven feet tall from paw to beak, and looked down her beak with great blue eyes. But as Abby looked into them, she felt a strange familiarity, of knowing the creature intimately. Abby thought about the feeling for a bit, studying the animal, before the realization struck her.

"Stella?" Abby whispered.

ooo000ooo

"What is it, Luna?" Lily cried out, the tension quite obviously becoming too much for her to bear.

When Luna turned to Lily, her eyes were alight with excitement, and lips upturned in obvious happiness that seemed quite out of place considering the tension in the room.

"Luna?" Lily prompted.

"Nothing, Mrs. Potter. I just saw the sentinel-narglettes pass us by, and the twinkle-nosed Crystalmoles told me to check on Harry." Then as an afterthought, she added, "I don't know why"

Lily ran upstairs immediately, while Amy looked at the little girl with curiously. "What are you getting at, Luna?"

Luna turned her now completely blank face to Amy, and asked in an innocent voice, "Whatever do you mean, Mrs. Black?"

"You are playing with real people here, Luna. People who are at their most vulnerable time of their life. It is not a good idea to play around with their emotions"

"I understand, Mrs. Black. Afterall, what good is a friend that shan't lend help. And what good is a good friend that shan't provide the right assistance timely."

"Er. Exactly." Amy took a deep breath and walked over to Luna. She put a hand on her shoulder and said softly, "Look Luna, James and Lily are very anxious about Harry already, and Abby had been acting a bit strangely. Add to that you just gave them a seizure when you sent James after Abby. I am afraid they will have something like a mental breakdown if they do not calm down. We need to help them however we can. And that includes not adding new tensions to their already troubled minds." Amy advised the little girl.

Luna nodded her head in agreement, and added, "These are the times when I truly miss Harry's help. I had been thinking for a long time how to provide them with what they need, but could not think of any proper way"

"What do you think they need" Amy asked. She was really curious, after all, Sirius and she had been standing beside their friends through their difficult times. They had been providing every need of Potters and appeasing their minds. Apart from a couple of miracles like Harry waking up, the dark lord leaving them alone, etc, Amy could not think of any other thing that would help the Potters.

Luna gave a serene smile, tilted her head and looked past Amy towards the entrance of the house, pointing towards the door with her eyes. Amy turned around to find the youngest member of Potter house making her way inside.

"Hey Aunt Amy, Luna" she greeted them before making her way into the kitchen.

Suddenly Amy realized what Luna was alluding to.

_Hope!_ That was what Potters needed at the moment.

Not just have a friend to stand beside them, but hope that things will take a positive turn and that their mental torment would end one day!

ooo000ooo

Stella bowed her head down to Abby's height, and touched her cheek fondly with her beak. A sort of electric bolt passed through her body, and the tension, fear and the misery she had been feeling for so long suddenly evaporated from her body.

"_Hello Little one"_ a soft melodic voice rang inside her mind, though the creature did not move its beak.

"Are you really Stella?" Abby whispered in amazement

"_Yes. I am"_ rang the reply.

"But… But, You– a cat– What?" Abby stammered

A soft jingling laugh rang out, as Stella explained, _"I am not a cat, little one. It is merely a hospitable shape I take"_

"How? Um.. _What_ are you?" Abby asked.

"_I am Stella. I am called a Thunderbird by some, a Lightning Griffin by some others, and Silver Shadow Queen by even more. But in reality, I just am Stella. I was, am and will be Stella. I am your brother's companion and the only one who can control lightning"_ She replied

Abby gazed on open mouthed as lightning shot out of (or was it into) Stella's body.

"_That was very unintelligent of you to come between me and the assailants"_ Stella's voice rang.

"They were going to hurt you" Abby immediately defended herself before adding quietly, "like Harry"

"_Would they have not hurt you?"_

Abby looked down rather than answering, feeling tears prickle on the back of her eyes.

"_Your brother did what he could to keep you safe, little one."_

"But he got hurt because of me. I should have stopped him. I should have –"

"_Anything you say or do would not have changed his action. He did what he did out of love and no force in this free mortal world would have stopped him. An act done in pureness of heart. Honor his sacrifice, and learn from it. But do not forget to live"_

"But it caused him to go into coma. And – and Aunt Amy said, he may not ever –"

"_He will."_ Abby's head shot up with hope dancing in her eyes. _"Very soon. He will wake up when he is ready"_

Abby let out a sob and jumped up holding Stella around her eagle neck.

When Abby let go, Stella shrank before her eyes and took the now familiar form of white Birman cat, and let out a small meow. Abby approached her cautiously, and touched her between her ears, scratching a bit. This got a gleeful purr that got Abby smile. The first genuine smile in many months.

ooo000ooo

As Lily walked down the corridor leading to Harry's room, her mind was thinking of a hundred situations that could be happening at that moment behind Harry's door. As soon as she reached the door, she burst in. And stopped on her tracks.

Her eyes immediately turned to the bed in the middle of the room, where Harry was still laying motionless, as expected. But what was not expected was for the bed to be hovering in the air, good two feet off the floor.

The next thing Lily noticed was the change in the very air she was breathing. It felt heavy, almost alive in a sense. She could feel the magic saturated in the air, as it made her skin tingle and cause goose bumps. The magic was familiar, but she was not sure where she had encountered it before. Her innate magic recognized it, and reminded her to trust the external force, _as she had done before_. But where?

Then as she looked around the room, she saw that every piece of furniture lifted up into the air, hovering at the level of Harry's bed. She felt her innate magic countering the external influence, thus keeping her on the floor.

She took a step into the room, towards Harry's bed, and felt like she was walking underwater. Even the voices outside the room seem to be strangely muffled, like hearing a voice underwater.

When she reached Harry's bed, she put her hand on Harry's side and pushed it lightly down towards the floor, half expecting it to resist. But to her surprise, the bed floated down under the slight pressure.

She saw that Harry was breathing deeply, but his lips were twitching lightly. _That is new_, Lily thought, as she touched his brow. She felt his skin warm and soft, but she also felt something new.

"Harry?" She called out. She shook his shoulder calling his name several times. But the boy remained as motionless as he did in the previous two months.

Lily let out a sigh and turned her attention towards the room. She could not understand what could make such a phenomenon to occur.

When she turned back to the bed, her mind jammed to a halt.

Harry was sitting up on the bed, eyes open and gazing at the floating furniture around the room.

He turned his head from side to side studying the surroundings. He then took a short breath and blinked his eyes with a short nod of his head.

Immediately, the table, dresser, chairs, everything that was hovering came crashing down to the floor. Also, the heavy magic in the air receded till it was back to normalcy.

"Harry?" Lily whispered, hoping that this was not a dream.

The boy turned his head to his mother, and gave a small smile filled with affection. "Mum" he croaked, throat dry and scratchy from unuse.

Harry Potter has finally woken up!

* * *

(A/N) Slow chapter, I know. But I felt this is important since I wanted to give definitive character traits to people. Also, think about the question, How do you teach humility to a child that had everything? And, How do I make Abby cultivate her own 'saving people thing'.

Since you all had been such good audience to my story, a hint: every small event in this story has long lasting consequences that are felt through out this story!! I shall say no more!

Next stop, Diagon Alley and Hogwarts. That should be a bit easier to write than emotions. Emotional situations were a to write

(A/N2) I am wondering, would you prefer smaller chapters at higher frequency or larger chapters every few weeks to a month?


	11. Ch 11: Shaman Harry

(A/N) As you may have noticed, this story was never told from Harry's point of view. Since his perception of the world is very different from normal people, his POV is reserved for a very small portion of the story. His mind goes into detailed monologues about things that may or may not be related to the current situation… Read on and let me know what you think.

* * *

_**Chapter 11: Shaman Harry**_

_At the end of the day, a loving family should find everything forgivable.  
-- Mark V. Olsen and Will Sheffer_

"But daddy, I _am_ telling the truth. It really was Stella. She –"

"Abby! Don't make this anymore harder than it is. You were unconscious along with the two muggers in the middle of the road, when we reached you. We can't be sure what might have happened. You may have dreamt it all while you were unconscious. I am just grateful that you were not injured." James said with a relieved sigh and hand firmly around his daughter's shoulder as they made their way into the Potter house living room.

"But, dad. I know what I saw. It –"

"Abby, please." James all but pleaded his daughter with both hands on her shoulders and bent down to her face, "We are already under so much tension about Harry, and all… I can not bear to see you also hurt. You are unhurt, and that's all matters now. Ok?"

Abby understood her father's anxiety all too clearly. She could remember clearly how happy her parents were mere hours earlier. That happiness seemed so long ago in light of her father's anxious face that she hated herself for being the cause. Again!

So, Abby did the only thing she could. She bit her arguments down and nodded.

James smiled lightly at this and said, "Good girl" as he bent down to kiss her brow.

"Now, lets go to the kitchen and –" and what, James never got to finish as Sirius ran into the room with a piece of parchment in hand and a wild look of happiness on his face.

"Sirius, what?" James cried out.

"Harry! He's awake!" Sirius blurted out waving the parchment "I couldn't find Amy at home, so I looked around to see if she left any note and– "

James did not hear anymore as he bolted up the stairs towards his son's room.

But Abby stood rooted at her spot. The bottle of oil from Master Zhang fell down to the floor. Her mind completely halted and blood drained from her face. Over the past two months, she had wished a number of times for this to happen. Her biggest wish and her worst nightmare had suddenly come true, and she was not sure how to proceed.

Sirius took a couple of steps towards the stairs, and turned back towards Abby with a frown.

"Aren't you coming, Abby?"

Abby turned her frightened unfocused gaze towards her uncle. One look at her terrified face was enough to tell Sirius what was going through her mind. He moved over to her and put a hand over her shoulder. "Abby?"

"Wh- Is – Is he –"

"Let's go and see for ourselves, shall we?"

"But, what if – what if he – "

Sirius took a deep breath and said, "Abby, you have known Harry all your life, and know him better than everyone of us. I know you think it's all your fault, but, do you really think _he_ will hold you responsible for what happened?"

Abby took a deep breath, which returned some color into her face, and followed her uncle at a more sedate contemplative pace.

At the door of her brother's room, her uncertainness took over again as she paused to hear what was happening inside. She could hear her mother's soft sobs, Hope's excited chatter, her Aunt Amy's diagnostic drone like questions, and most importantly, _Harry's taciturn responses_.

Too many questions were going around in her mind as she stood at the threshold of the room 'would he accept her? Would he ever forgive her? Has she lost his love and respect forever? Will she ever have what the twins had before? – '

Luna, who was standing by the door on the inside (in her pajamas?), came to her rescue. She gave Abby an encouraging smile, held her hand and pulled her into the room.

As soon as she entered the room, Harry's gaze turned to her. Immediately she noticed the first difference. The Harry she remembered always had an unfocused gaze, unless he was training or involved in a fight. But she could never remember the focused piercing nature that his gaze held at that moment. The force of his gaze caused her meager confidence to ebb away and all her insecurities hit with even larger force than before.

No sooner did Harry realize who was at the door, lips arched up into small smile that softened his gaze. Suddenly Abby could not bear it anymore. All the anguish and pain she felt over the last two months, all the hate she had for herself came crashing down on her as she ran over to Harry's bed and hugged him around his neck. She fell into an incoherent babbling muffled into his shoulder - about how sorry she was, how glad she felt now, and how she will make it up. She was beyond caring that her entire family or Blacks were around, or that her brother could not understand what she was talking about.

But all Harry did was to hold her in the hug and wait. He waited listening to her babble, waited for her to calm down by herself, waited until Abby's cries subsided down to bitter sobs, and held her waiting as her body slowly lost its stiffness, as she pulled herself together enough to get up.

She pulled her tear stained face off her brother's shoulder and looked closely into his eyes, those sharp unearthly piercing eyes that sent chills down her spine, as she said with all the sincerity she could muster in her heart, "I am sorry, Harry"

Harry simply gazed back at her, and turned his face to the side. That shot a spear of pain through her heart, feeling a dread of rejection. But Harry just came back with a clean piece of cloth from the side table and wiped her face off tears.

"Harry –"

"What?" was his first response.

Harry just woke up from a two month long magical coma, and he was consoling her. _Pathetic, can anyone say?_

"Can you ever forgive me, Harry?" Abby all but begged.

"What for?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head that she most definitely understood as being confused.

"I was so bad to you, and I almost – almost got you –" Abby couldn't bring herself to finish

Harry shrugged his shoulder and said, "You did. Now you know it. So it's over" as he wiped another stray tear off Abby's cheek.

Abby, along with the remaining occupants of the room looked at Harry flabbergasted. Up until then, they thought Harry did not notice his sister's bad behavior. To hear that he did, and still did not act any differently was an eye-opener

"You are my sister. My family. Like mum taught us, _Family is the most important thing in the world_".

That lesson Harry taught, no one in the room could ever forget.

o0o0o0o

_"Families are like fudge... mostly sweet with a few nuts."  
-- __Author Unknown_

It had been 171 days since the beginning of the year. That was 126 days or exactly 18 weeks since Harry had woken up from his magical coma. Harry preferred to count the days as just a number since the beginning of the year, or at times, in weeks. He did not like the concept of months at all. After all, if each month has different number of days, how can it be correct? If someone had decided that February must have 28 days, why can't someone else decide it have 32 days, and March be made 29 days? Then, which one is correct? Both, of course, can not be true.

It just did not make sense in Harry's mind.

Like every other day, Harry woke up at the seventh ring of his alarm clock that was set for 7:30AM. His mother and twin sister liked to wake up as early as possible, but Harry was more like his father and his other sister Hope about waking up. _Well, maybe not as bad as Hope,_ Harry thought as he got off the bed. He made his bed immediately, with the bigger pillow set diagonally between his bed's mattress and headboard. He tried to find the correct angle to set it at, but Luna told him, any angle should be fine, because that evening he was anyway going to pull it flat before sleeping.

He liked to keep things in a proper order, so that he need not make any decisions about where to look for a particular item when he needed it. Like for example, if he wanted to look for his toothbrush, he just need to go to the bathroom, open the closet behind the mirror on the right side, and look at the second shelf (from the bottom). If he did not follow such an order, then the toothbrush could be anywhere. It could as well be in his dresser drawer, or in his parent's bathroom, or even in the kitchen. Then he would have to make a decision of where to start looking for his toothbrush. _That_ is a bad thing.

So he went past both his sisters' rooms on the way to the bathroom. He saw Abby's room was open but bed was not made. He knew his mum would get angry with Abby if she did not make her bed as soon as she woke up (though Abby said she never liked making bed). He did not want that to happen. So, he quickly made her bed, picked up her socks and dropped them into her laundry basket, and made his way out of the room.

He once asked Luna what _angry_ means, and how it feels. He saw his mum, his dad, his sisters get angry many times, but did not understand what it really means. Like few days before, Hope was angry at herself that she lost to her friend Candice in a game of chess and so 3 of her chocolate frog cards (they were Agrippa, BrockleHurst and Aristotle). Harry told her if she played better, she could have won the game, and so wouldn't have had to lose the cards. But Hope got angry at him, and shouted at him before going into her room – fast. Harry did not understand why Hope was angry first with herself, than at him. It was so logical what he said. So what's the point of being angry?

Luna told him, when people get red in face and brow in a frown and talk loud, they are angry. But he saw his Sifu get like that when he was training them, and Sifu assured him that he was not angry at them, only pushing them to do better. So, Harry decided that people are illogical and mad. They could never make up their mind and stick to a routine.

When he did not fully understand what someone meant or what decision to make, he would simply ask Abby or Luna to help. _That_ was the logical thing to do!

Harry finished his bathroom ritual in 16 minutes, got dressed and made it into Hope's room. He sat beside her on bed, and shook her "Hope. Wake up. It's morning"

Hope groaned and turned over saying, "F've m're min's, Harry".

He looked at the clock, 7:54AM. He sat there watching the digits change. When it turned 7:59, he shook Hope again. "Five minutes are up Hope. Wake up"

Hope groaned a bit more and sat up on bed with a scowl. "Good Morning Hope" Harry wished.

Hope leaned over and gave her brother a short hug and sat back, slowly leaning back into her pillow. "No, you don't Hope. You will be late for the trip to Diagon Alley" Harry pulled her off the bed and pushed her out of the door. With a good amount of grumbling, Hope went into the bathroom as Harry made it downstairs.

"Morning Harry" Abby wished him from the breakfast table where she was already eating. Her magical training was supposed to start at 8:30 AM everyday with her instructor Emmeline Vance. But Ms. Vance always floo'ed in 3 to 7 minutes early or late, but never at exactly 8:30. When he pointed it out, his mum simply laughed it out and said, people in general are not that particular about punctuality. Again, People are illogical. And mad.

He wished "Good Morning" to Abby and his Mum (his dad goes to work at 7:30AM every day).

"Morning Harry. You are looking sharp today" His mum said looking him over.

Harry looked down at his clothes, his nails and replied, "I don't have any sharp edges, mum."

Abby giggled from the table and said, "She meant you are wearing nice clothes and look pretty, Harry"

Harry looked over at his mum's smiling face and replied copying her smile, "Thanks." just as he was taught to respond when complimented, then added, "Hope wanted to go shopping for her school day event dress today, remember"

Lily's eyes widened. "Oh, I forgot to take my day off. Let me talk to your father. Maybe he can take you shopping in the afternoon"

Harry nodded, but Abby grumbled, "Wish I could go too. But Ms. Vance says I can't miss training at all, or there will be accidental magic happening around me. Can't we go in the evening or something?"

"I need the dress for rehearsal in the evening, Abby" Hope said as she ran into the kitchen.

Harry got two plates out, and scooped three spoons of fried eggs into Hope's plate and four into his. When she was younger, Harry used to feed her, but now, she was much older and did not like being fed everyday. So now he did not. He moved on to bacon, and carefully placed two strips into each plate without touching the eggs. For a second he thought if the strips of bacon should touch, but he told himself, since its food of same type, it can. He moved over to his mum, who was frying potatoes. In her haste, Lily dropped potatoes into the plates a bit too quickly and the potatoes fell half on bacon.

Harry dropped the plate beside his mum and took the other plate to his sister. He sat down in his seat and folded his hands, closed his eyes and began humming. He did not like the food touching, and did not want to think about it.

"Harry! What happened?" he heard his mum. He wanted to answer, but to do it, he has to think about the potatoes on the bacon and –- he kept on humming.

Abby shook his shoulders and said,

"Harry, see. No food touching other food" Abby assured him pointing to the plate before him.

Sure enough, the potatoes were not on the bacon strips. Logically, he knew Abby or his Mum removed it. But he could not see it anymore, so it's not a problem. And he did not want to think about it anymore either.

After breakfast, Harry's Mum fire-called his dad and chatted for a bit. She pulled her head back and smiled at Hope and said, "Well, your dad is free in the afternoon, it seems. He agreed to take you shopping"

That got an excited squeal from Hope, but disgruntled mumbling from Abby about being 'unfair' and 'being normal'.

Before leaving the kitchen, Harry saw Lily fold the day's Daily Prophet under her arm as she made her way upstairs. That was strange to Harry because, since the kids could read properly, their parents had encouraged them to read the newspaper every day. In fact his dad used to make Abby or Harry read the paper as he had his breakfast. So, Harry followed her upstairs to ask her.

When he reached his parents bedroom, he saw his mum look at the paper intently. Harry noticed that her face was a bit red and brow in a frown. His mum was angry about something. So he waited for a bit as she got ready. He saw her throw the paper under the bed. Harry turned away from the door. He can get it from there later.

Harry made his way back downstairs where Ms. Vance had arrived, and Abby was chatting with her.

Vance seemed to look around a little more than normal as she said, "… can't go against your parents wish Abby. Besides, it's not safe outside at this time"

"But, why?" Abby whined.

"That is something your parents should talk to you about. Now, for today, lets first review the basics of charms, okay?" Ms. Vance ploughed in.

Harry sat in the chair beside his sister as he listened to the lecture. Harry thought Ms Vance knew the subject well, but did not know how to teach. His Sifu always said that the best way to teach a student is for the teacher to go down to the level of the student's knowledge, and walk them up. Since each student has their own way of accumulating knowledge, the teacher must not assume just one way would work with all. Like for example, when learning new katas, Harry liked his Sifu to teach the entire kata on a board, before even attempting the initial form. But Luna liked it when Sifu showed each form individually and helped her walk through them until the entire kata was reached.

Ms. Vance seemed to talk more like a buzzing bee and it was not more than fifteen minutes that Harry saw his sister's eyes roam all around the room, except at her teacher. He poked his sister a couple of times when he saw her look out through the window, but that did not help much either. It was only when the practical part of the training started that Abby paid more attention. That day, Ms. Vance was teaching Abby the levitation charm.

Harry had asked Ms. Vance as well as his parents why Abby's magical training was so slow. Being bored at home, Harry had read some magical tomes to help Abby, and even without the specialized training Dumbledore promised for her, Harry felt he had more magical knowledge than Abby. But the answer given to him was that since Abby was so young, she could not sustain the magical strain. This made no sense to Harry since he thought using magic was like using muscles. The more you use it, the better you become at it. Dumbledore and his parents seem to disagree and Harry did not argue. He never liked to argue. If others did not like what he said, he will not push it anymore. Because, he felt if he has to argue correctly, he must know everything about everything related to the argument. Since he did not know it, he simply can not even start the argument.

Since he understood a lot of diverse subjects easily, Luna had advised him to read as many books as he can. But Harry did not understand the point. If there was something he did not know and needed to know, he would read about it. Why bother reading about how ancient Vikings used Gaelic symbols or how agriculture is done in Brazil, if he was never going to make use of the knowledge.

When Harry saw his mum leave, he waited for fifteen more minutes (like Hope told him he should when he went snooping around places he was not allowed), and made his way up into his parents room.

He bent down carefully and pulled the paper out. He began looking through the headlines:

_Minister Fudge to propose the new werewolf act_

_Pureblood scion Lord Malfoy urges public to not degrade tradition by mingling with muggles _

_Lord Sirius Black opposes Minister Fudge's reform act, as well as Lord Malfoy's call_

_St. Mungo's healer suggests the mutated magic Harry Potter shows may not be so rare_

_Unspeakables' research suggest Abigail Potter defied Dark Lord and Death: calls her The-Girl-Who-Lived_

_Lord Black: Is he helping or hurting the Magical community_

Harry thought a bit as he read through the headlines. He figured that his parents did not want them to read bad things about his uncle Sirius, and so hid the paper. But he did not understand why this time would be different. He knew his uncle had been facing trouble at the ministry since the day he took up his seat in wizengamot. His uncle had told them that he was stepping on too many people's toes with his firm unwavering stand on equal rights for all. Harry suggested he watch the floor while he walked, so he would not step on others toes. But his uncle just laughed it off. Harry didn't understand why.

For a second he thought maybe the article about his sister was the reason, but he quickly dismissed it. It was not uncommon to see an article or two every week about the Halloween 1981. So, that could not be it. Harry simply gave it up and threw the paper under the bed, and walked back downstairs.

o0o0o0o

That afternoon found Harry, Hope and James at the Diagon Alley finishing up their shopping. As Hope browsed through the mountains of clothes deciding which colors she liked, what styles and combinations, Harry sat to the side reading through the book his Sifu suggested about meditative state of mind. When she asked Harry for his opinion, all he advised was "anything but purple". Harry never liked the color purple. He could never explain it correctly, but he said the color purple made him feel helpless, like when he could not stop some boys at school from hurting his friend or sisters.

On the other hand, his favorite colors were the most nondescript grays and blacks. He said they made him feel safe. His family never understood that either, but just accepted it as part of being with Harry Potter.

Harry watched his sister rummage through the mound of clothes as his dad and the store clerk gazed on with a smile. Harry frowned at this. He did not understand what there is to smile about, since his sister was taking so long to select a dress that he was getting tired of waiting. They should also be feeling tired rather than happy watching Hope. After what seemed to be a hundredth trial, Hope decided on a dress she liked.

"Harry! Look! Do you like it?" Hope asked twirling around in her new dress.

"It's not purple" Harry replied with a nod.

"I know. How do I look? Or should I try something else?" she asked musingly.

"You look pretty. But if you want to try the other dresses, go ahead" Hope turned around with a frown and Harry added, "I still have 17 pages more to read in this book"

Hope squeaked, as she turned around, "Hey! You are supposed to help me. Besides, I didn't take _that_ long to select!" Hope cried out, while his dad simply laughed.

"Well of course, Hope dear. You only took an hour and half this time to select this _one_ dress." James said chuckling as Hope nodded with a serious face. As Hope turned towards the shop clerk, James turned to Harry and whispered loudly, "Next time, don't forget to get me a book too"

"Daddy!" Hope cried out.

"Oh! Nothing, Hope dear. It-It was Harry!" James immediately backpedaled.

Harry looked at his dad mischievous face with a raised eyebrow and turned to his sister, "Hope, doesn't this dress come with a scarf?"

Hope's face brightened, "Oh! I didn't think of that. Thanks Harry" She happily skipped over to a different section, while James gave Harry a scandalous look. Harry returned to his book.

A good forty five minutes later, the three Potters were making their way to the _Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor_. "I can't believe you did that" James whispered to Harry as they made inside carrying Hope's shopping bags.

"It was a good book" Harry replied blandly. But amusement was quite evident in his eyes. His dad made it to the side of the parlor, as Harry and Hope made it inside.

Hope sat down as Harry got her order from the store front. Hope looked down at the plate and began giggling.

"Harry, Banana split is supposed to be one dish. Not three ice cream in three bowls and an unpeeled banana on the side"

Harry shrugged and replied, "It's less messy". But it was in vain. In front of his horrified face, Hope began mixing the banana and the ice creams into a single bowl. Harry simply shook his head and sighed.

Hope beamed at him, and went back blissfully to her ice cream dish.

As the siblings enjoyed their peace after the tiring trip, they heard a commotion from outside the shop, towards its side. It was loud voices coming from the side ally connecting to Diagon Alley. Knowing his sisters curious nature, Harry knew she would jump up to investigate the disturbance. So, Harry did the most logical thing. He leaned over, and closed the window. It had the desired effect of cutting off the sound almost entirely.

"Maybe we should see what's going on, Harry" Hope suggested craning her head towards the back, trying to get a glimpses through cracks.

"No," was Harry's simple response. After all, their dad was a trained Auror, and it is his job to take care of such disturbances. Not theirs.

"Maybe, we should –" what, Harry never found out, as there was a loud cry of pain from the side alley. The voice was one they could easily recognize anywhere. And judging by the continuous cry, it was obvious that their dad was in deep trouble.

This time, before Harry could react, Hope darted out of her chair and off through the side entrance.

"Daddy!" she cried out as she made her way out.

Harry, who was only a pace behind her, grabbed the back of her jumper and pulled her towards himself. He maintained a firm grip of her jumper as the siblings got their first glimpse of trouble.

There were three black cloaked people, two men and one woman. The men stood guard over the unconscious body of a red robed man (_"Auror"_, Harry thought), while the women had her wand trained on their father, who was crying out and withering on the ground.

"Leggo, Harry. We have to help dad! Lemme go" Hope struggled while Harry held on tightly. His Sifu's teaching racing through his mind as he analyzed the situation. Being outnumbered, with the liability of protecting not just Hope, but his injured dad was not a good fight to get into. But, he needed to get his dad away from the people. He needed a diversion to slip them away. He began looking around to see if he can use the narrow side alley to his advantage to-

At that moment, Hope's jumper tore as she got free of Harry's grasp and ran straight to her dad. It had the one desired effect of breaking the woman's concentration, and the curse was lifted off their dad.

"Well, well, well. James Potter," the woman crooned, "looks like we have more toys to play with" she finished with a shrill laughter that reeked of insanity.

"No. Don't. Please" was all their dad could get out as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Oh, but I dooooo" the woman dragged the word childishly, and one of the men finished smirking "unless you tell us what we want"

"Shut up!" the woman shrieked at her companion. "That was MY line!!" She then turned to James, and with the insanely sweet face, she finished her line, "unless you tell us what you know about the whereabouts of our Dark Lord". She giggled, and turned to her companion, "See! My line was so much better!!"

Her eyes turned to James again as she looked, expectantly.

"I. Don't. Know!" Harry's dad croaked out, holding Hope away from the insane woman.

"Oh! Poor you! Guess you have to see us play with our toys then" she said brightly as she pointed her wand at Hope. Horrified, Hope shrank into her dad's hands, as he unsuccessfully tried to hold her away from the insane woman looming over them.

"Please don't hurt my sister" a quiet but even voice was heard from the side. The people in black turned to see the almost eleven year old boy making his way calmly towards his family. The moment Hope broke out of Harry's hand, his strategies about the fight flew out of his mind. _After all_, he thought, _the best laid plans are only good enough till the beginning of the battle_.

"Harry! Get away, run and get help" Harry's dad cried out.

"Aww. Another widdle toy wanna pwayy too?" she crooned, as her companions guffawed.

"No" Harry answered, to whom the response was directed at was unclear, "I don't want to see my sister hurt, so please don't."

"But, I doooo" the woman dragged again, as she raised her wand.

"If you do," Harry said in the same even voice, "then I will kill you"

That paused every activity in the side alley. The three black robed people turned their surprised faces towards the little boy who made the unexpected statement. Even James and Hope forgot their perilous situation as they stared at Harry.

But Harry stood perfectly still as he gazed on at the people with the same expressionless face, and piercing green eyes. He gazed on with his legs a bit apart and slightly leaning over his walking stick which he clasped in both his hands and held in front of his body.

"Silly _little boy_" the woman spat in contempt, "what can a squib like you possibly do to ME!"

She flourished her wand towards the prone figure of the father and daughter and waved the wand. As the dark magic left her wand, her face took an expression of maniacal pleasure. An expression that screamed of her triumph.

But a split second later, there was a shift in the air. Magic concentrated itself in the narrow side alley, causing the air to feel heavier. Every movement seemed sluggish and hard. James immediately recognized it as what Lily had experienced in Harry's bedroom, just after he had woken up. The feeling of being suspended in an aqueous gel where even breathing needed an extra effort.

The heaviness did not just have the effect on them, but on the buildings around them as well. As the gazed on, the walls were noticeably pushed away, and the wall and chimney on the side of _Florean Fortescue's Ice cream Parlor_ began cracking at the base and tilting to its side.

For James, as terrifying as being crushed by the falling wall was, a more welcome effect was on the dark magical stream that left the woman's wand. Just as a weight at the end of a bamboo stick causes it to curve down, the stream curved down and hit the ground a few feet in front of the father-daughter pair.

For the first time, the black robed people's faces took an expression of fear. _Take a person out of their comfort zone_, his Sifu had taught him, _and their true nature would show out_.

With his eyes fixed on the woman, Harry walked on as though the heaviness did not have any effect on him.

The three offenders raised their wands towards the _little boy_ who seem to have more control over them than they had foreseen. But they immediately realized that their casting rhythm was shot out of whack by the heaviness in the air. Casting the spells and pronouncing the right syllable with the right wand movement proved difficult for them to co-ordinate. The spells they did manage to cast were shot way off their aim. The _little boy_ made his steady course towards them, very much unaffected by their attempts at offence (or did it turn to defense!)

Harry reached the first person, who simply threw his wand down and attacked Harry with his fists. Harry moved his upper body back and to his left by a few inches, which caused the man to overstretch. The man could not stop his momentum of punch, and caused his back to be exposed to Harry. Harry's walking stick came up, and the U bend at the head of the walking stick hooked around the man's exposed neck.

With his eyes still focused on the women, Harry kicked at the back of the man's knees causing him to buckle. At the same time, he pulled hard on his walking stick as well.

_CRACK! _Was heard as the man's neck dislocated at the same time as Harry's walking stick broke.

Without bearing a single glance to the falling man, Harry walked on towards the woman, who, along with the other man was trying their best to cast spells. Harry was a mere feet in front of them, when Magic surged from their wands curving through the thick air and hit the ground just before the boy. Harry stopped, with the remaining half of his walking stick held like a knife. The jagged edge where stick was broken off, along with the first man's neck, made a good enough edge weapon to pierce a human body without much difficulty.

Reassured, the man started the next spell. But, never got to finish it, as the already precarious wall of _Florean Fortescue's Ice cream Parlor_ tipped its final sustaining angle, and fell on top of the two. As if in a slow motion, the brick work fell down, over and around the two standing figures. They moved as fast as the sluggish air could allow them, as the rubble and bricks started hitting them.

As it happened, the man escaped a sizable chunk of brick and mortar work that missed him by mere inches. He moved as far away from the falling debris as he could. But in his haste to move away, his path took him straight towards Harry. The jagged edge of his walking stick shot up, and the man ran straight into it.

Harry pulled the blood covered stick out of the man's gut and let him fall down to the ground as his focused gaze never left the woman.

The woman was luckier (or unluckier as others would say) that she took smaller rubble, and cleared the primary impact zone. But she did not come out unscathed. She leaned down to the ground, taking her weight off her twisted ankle, blood on her face, and her wand away from her reach.

Harry walked the final couple of paces and stood over the woman with a bloody stick in his hand.

"What!!?" she spat at him.

Harry turned his piercing eyes towards the fallen woman, and replied in his even voice, "I told you not to hurt my sister, and what I will do now", as he raised his broken walking stick in one hand.

The woman's eyes grew wide in fear. There was no shadow of her previous insanity in her face then. Only the sheer terror of a living being in the face of its inevitable end.

"No" she whispered, trying to push herself away from the freakish _little boy_. "No" she cried out as her back felt the fallen chimney, that blocked her escape.

"Too late" the even voice of the _little boy_ executioner said. It was not what he said, but the way he said that struck even more terror in the woman. It was a voice filled with no emotion at all. No anger, no hate, no malice nor was there triumph, but just a mere fact. There were no bounds to the terror the voice had caused. Her face froze in a terrified scream that refused to come out of her throat as Harry raised the jagged edge like a knife ready to drive into her wicked heart.

"Harry, NO!" there was a shout from behind Harry, that paused his hand. With the hand still positioned to strike, he turned his head towards his sister.

"Please Harry, Don't" Hope begged, tears in her eyes sparkling. "Don't do it"

Harry looked on for a few more seconds, before he brought the jagged half of his walking stick on to the women's body. The squishy sound of flesh ripping and blood spraying out, and the agonized cry from the woman caused Hope to turn her head away.

Harry bent his blood covered face down, turning his piercing green eyes towards the woman's shock filled face and stated, "Please do not try to hurt my family again. I don't like it much"

He then stood up and turned away from the broken form of the fearsome lieutenant of Lord Voldemort, Ballatrix Lestrange, who was going through a shock-induced shivering, and had half of a wooden walking stick sticking out of her right shoulder.

Immediately as Harry turned, the heaviness vanished, and the sounds of the businesses, the gathering crowd from Diagon Alley filled the ears of Potters. Hope ran towards her brother, who was slowly limping his way towards them. In a single leap, she jumped into her brother's arms and hugged him tightly, legs wound around his waist, muttering about how scared she was.

Harry calmly carried her over to his dad, who was being helped up by two men in red Auror uniforms.

"Harry" James shrugged his fellow Aurors, and made his way to his son, "Are you alright?"

Harry held on to his sister, as he looked at his dad, then down at himself, and back at his dad, and replied, "No. I am not"

Immediately James reached over to pull Hope away, "Are you hurt? Do you feel dizzy? Let me call the medi-wizards. Where does it hurt?" he fired his questions.

Harry looked on quietly at his dad, almost disinterestedly, as he replied, "I broke my walking stick"

James halted on his tracks, and turned his amazed eyes to his son, "You, broke your walking stick. And so you are not okay?"

Harry nodded, "It was my favorite walking stick," then added, "You need a medi-wizard though" and walked past, with his sister still in his arms.

ooo000ooo

"It is called Evocational Magic" Albus Dumbledore told to the Potter parents, "a very unstable type of magical release from a wizard. After Mrs. Potter's description of her experience in young Harry's room, I suspected it would be Evocational Magic. But could not confirm the fact until today"

"I don't think I ever heard of something like that before from anyone" James said as he sat in his living room, once again in conference with his friends and the headmaster.

The day's events had left him drained, but this was one meeting he could not afford to miss.

"I would be very surprised if you had heard about it, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore replied, "It is not very common around our part of the world. Besides, it takes a very powerful trigger to awaken this latent magic in an individual. I am sure you can imagine what acted as the trigger in Harry's case"

"Tony Wilson" Lily muttered before asking, "What can you tell us about this kind of magic, Professor?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily, "Not much I am afraid. But, I do know that this is not some sort of mutated strain of magic. Rather, I would go as far as to say that it is you and I that hold the mutated strain of magic. His is pure. Tell me Messrs., have you ever heard of a Shaman?"

James shook his head while Lily answered, "Only the saying that a Shaman doesn't change his ways"

"Indeed. It is a very old class of magic wielding, that has many myths and legends surrounding it" Dumbledore informed them, "Some believe that a Shaman was just another name for the leader of a tribe. But the more people research, the more they find that a Shaman never truly showed any inclination to lead their tribes. Yet, they were just as strong a pillar for the tribe as its leader"

"So," James gently urged the professor, "What exactly is a Shaman?"

"The truth, Mr. Potter is, I do not know. There is much tribal lore surrounding the capabilities of a Shaman, which tell us that they certainly are magic wielders. Some tribes attributed them with spiritual magic, some with earth based or pagan magic, and even some attributed magical power to control weather. However, what attributes set them apart from the other regular witches and wizards is unfortunately lost over the time."

"But," Dumbledore continued, "the lore from various places around the world describe that rare as they may, one merely needs to be in the close vicinity of a true Shaman to feel his power, and at times that power can even feel suffocating."

Here Dumbledore paused, letting the information sink into his former students. One after the other, their eyes widened as the realization struck them.

"Harry" Amy was the first "Lily and James both described that the air felt so heavy that even breathing took effort"

"Indeed, Mrs. Black. Young Mr. Potter does not seem to be the first to show this kind of magic"

"So, Headmaster," James commented, "What else can you tell us about this Shamanism and Evocational magic?"

"It is a very imprecise and unstable type of magic, whose results are quite often then not indeterminate" Looking at the stunned expressions on the others' faces, Dumbledore continued, "You have seen the effect it has today afternoon. Both the kin and foe felt the suffocating sensation. I must say, with his unique mental stature, I am worried what effect he may have on any innocents that happen to be around him the next time he uses the Evocational magic" Dumbledore finished gravely.

Lily and James were very troubled by that. It seemed that the happiness they felt when they discovered Harry was not a squib evaporated in light of this new information. It was as if he was not destined for alienation based on bigotry, but rather by this new kind of fear.

"So, what do we do" Sirius asked the question no one else wanted to ask.

Dumbledore sighed and began, "The research I had conducted led me that the Evocational and Ritualistic Magic did not fade away in many parts of the eastern world. Particularly in India, Tibet and surrounding regions. As I dug deeper, I found a school in Himalayas that concentrates its curriculum around ritualistic magiks. Also, the Shamanism was widely prevalent in regions not far from the school"

Dumbledore paused here, studying his students closely. After all, the last time he suggested them to send Harry away did not go well, and he had no intention of getting on the bad side of the adults responsible for the prophesized child.

Lily and James on the other hand did not have the courage to counter argue the headmaster's suggestion. It was not just the question of their children's safety, but the innocent bystanders who may get hurt just by virtue of being at a wrong place at wrong time when Harry's magic fires off. Besides, logically, it would be better for Harry all through his life, if he can learn to control his magic. _But it just did not seem right_.

"But, if Harry is not a squib," Remus suddenly said, "then isn't it possible that he be the prophesized one? And not Abby?"

Dumbledore did not answer immediately. Eventually, when he answered, he chose his words carefully, "I do not think so - for many reasons. The reasons that I had stated so many years ago, still remain as valid today. An emissary from the Magic itself, who is supposed to bring equality to everybody, would at least be ready for a bit of interaction with others, don't you think? Judging from the outgoing personality of Abigail and introverted autistic Harry, who do you think would be good at diplomacy? Who among the two is opinionated and who is willful? What of sociability and capacity for negotiations that an emissary must perform"

Dumbledore took a deep breath before saying, "But the most important point is still that for the emissary to vanquish the Dark Lord must be of light. Judging by the remorse which Abigail showed in the last few months, and the ease with which Harry was ready to take a life, who amongst them is light and who dark."

As expected, the friends jumped in defense of Harry with "Saving his sister", "his protective instinct", "his concern for his family" arguments. But Dumbledore easily over rid them by saying,

"Yes, there is no err in what you say. But, understand this. The saying that "Shaman does not change his ways" is not just a mere saying but based on the hard time-tested truth about willful nature of a Shaman. Whatever behavior Harry shows now, I am willing to bet my wand when I say that he will hold fast to the same behavior all his life. He will not change"

"But," Remus cut in, "Isn't being a Shaman special enough that he could be this emissary?"

"I do not think so, Mr. Lupin" Dumbledore replied, "Being Shaman is not anything special. Shamanism is not very uncommon until quite recent past. After all, that is how we know so much about that cult, and evocational magic. It is like metamorphism which is not very common, yet, once in a while we see one being born. I believe it is just a chance that Harry is a Shaman. Chance and Tony Wilson" Dumbledore finished.

The discussion drifted to other topics after that, until it was time for Dumbledore to leave the Potter's Residence.

On his way out, he met Harry and Luna sitting in the foyer playing with the chess board between them. Harry's Pet cat Stella was sitting on the third side of the board, looking down at the game as intently as the players themselves.

Dumbledore assumed they were playing chess and stood beside to watch. He thought, it may be give a bit more insight into the boys mind.

But within a few seconds, he realized that they were not playing chess. Each was moving the pieces of both colors, and at a very rapid rate, following rules that seem to make sense only to the children. Or with no rules at all. _And the cat seemed to referee them_.

"Is that chess you are playing?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

Harry lifted his head up and looked at Dumbledore unfocusedly, but did not answer. Luna replied, "Yes. The regular rules were boring, so we made our own"

"You know you are not supposed to do that. Like you can not play with pieces of both colors, and both can not play with the same piece"

"Yet you play the game similarly every day" Luna answered.

Dumbledore paused, considering the words. He was quite certain what the young girl alluded at. But before he responded, Luna said, "The regular chess allows players to forget the moves they made to reach a particular play. That was the first thing we changed. The second is for us to realize that there are certain pieces we can not play with, nor can we play against" She placed her gaze on Dumbledore's eyes when she added, "your game plan does not consider that"

Dumbledore thought about her words carefully before responding, "Do you see the pieces I do not consider?"

"Two, actually" Luna replied airily.

"And they are?"

"The most important of them," Luna bent her head closer to Dumbledore with a serious expression said, "is Nargles"

Dumbledore had to struggle to stifle his mirth at the little girl's response. He asked in a jovial voice, "and the other, if I may ask, Miss Lovegood?"

Luna did not respond, but Harry's voice carried over from the other side of the chess board, "I know you never liked me to be associated closely with Abby, but I will never be far from my sister. So, please don't try to push me away from my family. I do not like it" he added with a deep frown and scrunched nose (which happened to be the most expressive face Dumbledore had ever seen on Harry) "At all"

The children went back to their game board, moving the pieces rapidly around completely oblivious to the frown on Dumbledore's face.

After a few seconds, Dumbledore turned away deep in thought. His one time, now long gone dear friend's words ringing in his head, _"Never be foolish and discount any point, however insignificant it might seem, until it becomes moot"_.

_Maybe inviting Harry Potter to Hogwarts for his magical education is a good idea. It becomes easy to keep an eye on him_, Dumbledore thought. After all, in the off chance that he chose the wrong twin as the chosen one, he might quickly make amends, and lead the wizarding world's newest leader of light in the right direction.

ooo000ooo

"Come on Harry, wake up" an exasperated Abby cried out for his brother, "We have to get to Diagon alley and buy our school supplies"

A very sleepy Harry Potter lifted his head to see the time.

_6:02AM. _

Harry groaned, "Even the shops don't open until eight, Abby" and dropped his head on his pillow.

"But it will be crowded late in the morning. We have to get our stuff early" Abby pestered on.

"No" Harry simply said.

"No?" Abby said in surprise. "No?" this time mischievously.

An hour later, when Lily woke up and went down into kitchen, Harry was making the eggs in one pan, and frying potatoes in another, while Abby was sitting at the table talking _at_ Harry.

"…and then we should get at least two pairs of shoes, 'coz, Percy, that's Ron's brother, he said the house elves don't clean them properly everyday and we need a clean pair for special occasions, and… oh, morning mum"

"Morning Abby" Lily said, and looking at Harry's sour face, she added, "What did you do to wake him up so early?"

"I didn't do anything mum" Abby quickly replied, "I did not even touch him! Honest!"

"Only jumped on my bed beside me" Harry grouched, while Abby smiled impishly.

That got Lily laughing also. Harry simply piled the breakfast onto a plate and got it to Abby.

"What about you, Harry?" Lily asked.

"I will wait till you make it" Harry replied.

"You can share mine" Abby offered magnanimously with a sniffy turn of her nose.

Harry looked at his sister with a raised eyebrow, and replied, "No. I will wait for the _good_ breakfast"

"Hey!"

Two hours later, the entire Potter family and one cat walked into Diagon Alley to pick up their school supplies. Their first stop was at the Gringotts, where the Potters waited in line beside a Goblin teller for their turn to take them down to their vault.

As they waited, Harry stared at the goblin. It was Abby who first realized how closely Harry was studying the goblin. While she was afraid to say anything in front of the goblin, lest they be offended, Harry had no such qualms as he stared at the goblin. Within a couple of minutes, even the goblin noticed it, and directed his fiercest glare at Harry. But the staring did not stop.

Eventually, the goblin barked, "What, human?"

"Nothing" Harry replied, but didn't turn his head, as the goblin muttered about "obnoxious humans" and "worthless creatures"

After a while, "I repeat, WHAT! Human?" the goblin said, this time, forcefully.

"I was simply wondering about the difference between you and me" Harry said

The goblin's face darkened and in a low angry hiss, he asked, "Do you have a death wish? Or are you simply too stupid to realize that you offend me so, human?"

The adult Potters, immediately pulled Harry back, as they began apologizing to the incensed goblin.

But Harry responded, "You are not very different from me, are you? You are shorter, but you have the same number of limbs as I do, two eyes, a nose and a mouth. It's almost as if you are a shorter human," Harry paused, looking pensive, then added, "Or, I am a taller goblin. So, how are you different?"

The goblin and the humans around him stared at Harry in surprise dumbfounded. Comparing himself with the goblin, whatever way Harry might have offended the goblin, he was offending himself as well. So, the goblin could say neither good, nor bad about Harry.

There was a booming laugh from their side. The Potters turned to find a decorated goblin laughing heartily. It was clear that he heard what had transpired between the human and the goblin.

"Well, that is a sentiment I had not heard in a long time, least of all from a human. It is quite fascinating that a foul ye young shall think so. It would be quite interesting what else he thinks" It was almost as if, the goblin was talking to himself than to anyone around. He studied Harry's face for a few moments before barking, "Griphook! Help the humans with their transaction courteously."

The goblin standing beside the Potters jumped at the order and led the waiting Potters out of their waiting line, to the side door. Much to the displeasure of others in the line, the Potters were immediately led to the carts. The Potters were too bewildered at this sudden show of courtesy by the ever-spiteful goblins. It was completely unheard of, but they did not dare to ask. They finished their work in their vault and exited the bank as quickly as they could. While exiting, Harry waved his hand at Griphook, and to the surprise of his family, the goblin _waved_ _back_.

Exiting the bank, they split up to do the remaining shopping. Harry and Abby went over to _Madam Malkin's_ _Robes for all Occasions_, while the adults split up to buy the remaining items from the list.

Inside the store, a pale blonde boy with a pointed nose was already getting measured by the Madam's tape measure. She made Harry stand over a stool beside the pale boy and went inside.

"Potter" he wished Abby with a curt bow, "I trust you are well, and are invited to attend Hogwarts?"

Abby nodded watching him warily.

"And you. What are you doing here?" he asked Harry with a sneer. He turned to Abby and asked, "Are you here with just him?"

Harry did not respond, but Abby got a scowl on her face when she responded, "What's it to you, Malfoy?"

"It is truly unfortunate that a lady of your stature should be escorted by such a person" he said the word _person_ as if he did not consider Harry as one. "My father would be mortified to hear that you are treated so. Allow me to escort you around the shopping district" he said pompously.

"I think I am fine with my _brother_, Malfoy." Abby replied coolly, "We have the same list of things to shop for"

Malfoy turned sharply to Harry, and asked in a horrified voice "Did they let _you_ into Hogwarts too? I can not believe how low Hogwarts has sunk to if they even let such mentally unstable kids in. My father will surely hear about this."

Abby had enough, when she grabbed Harry's walking stick from the side of the table, gripped it with both hands, swung it over her shoulder as she faced Malfoy and hissed angrily, "Do you want to repeat that, Malfoy? I dare you."

The blazing eyes and her stance made it perfectly clear to Malfoy what Abby intended to do if he opened his mouth.

Any confrontation was averted when Madam Malkin walked in. She seemed to understand the tension between the children as she quickly finished her work on Malfoy kid and promptly dismissed him.

The last order of business for the Potters was wand shopping. The five humans and one feline walked into the best wand shop in all of England – Olivanders.

As they walked in, a small bell chimed somewhere inside the shop. They walked inside the shop to find it dusty, and quite empty. They looked around the shop at what seemed to be thousands of small rectangular boxes stacked from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall.

James was about to call for someone when a voice sounded, "I had been waiting to see when I would get to meet you, Messrs. Potter". Lily, James and Abby jumped at the sudden voice, while Harry seemed mesmerized at the rows and rows of boxes in every direction.

Without any further cue, the old man Olivander said, "Let us start with Ms. Potter. Which is your wand arm?"

"Er. Right, I suppose" Abby crocked out.

A charmed tape measure jumped up and began measuring her. Abby turned red in embarrassment when the tape measure began measuring her legs and the size of nostrils. But the old man did not pay any attention to the tape measure as he looked through the boxes.

"The wand chooses the wizard, Ms. Potter. It is never clear why, but each wand has its own spirit that binds to only one wizard for life" He handed Abby a wand as he said, "Try this. Willow with a dragon's heartstring. Good for transfiguration, like your father's"

Abby took the wand and before she could even flick her wrist, the old man, and surprisingly Harry said, "No"

Olivander turned to Harry and asked in a surprise filled voice, "How did you know, Mr. Potter"

Harry did not reply, but kept staring at the man, standing half behind James.

"Harry?" Lily prompted.

Harry tore his gaze off the old man and looked at his mother.

"How did you know?" Lily prompted again.

Harry shrugged and replied, "Didn't seem right"

From then on, Olivander would take a wand out of the box, and look at Harry. Harry would either shake his head or simply not respond. The wands Harry shook his head for, when Abby tried, always seemed to cause small explosions or something destructive. The ones Harry did not respond usually caused small amount of sparks or simply nothing at all.

As the time passed, the Potters were frustrated at the lack of results, but the old man was ever so excited.

Eventually, with a curious frown on his brow, Olivander pulled out a dusty box from below his counter. He held the wand lightly in his fingers, and turned to Harry. For the first time, Harry nodded affirmatively.

Abby took the wand into her hands. Immediately a sense of warmth filled her, and a geyser of red and gold sparks spurted out of the end.

"Holly and Phoenix feather. Curious" Olivander muttered. "Very curious"

Abby turned her happy face to the man and asked chirpily, "What, Mr. Olivander?"

Olivander looked at Abby, then her parents closely, and in a serious voice replied, "I remember every wand I had ever sold, Messrs. Potter. As it happens, the Phoenix that gave the feather for your wand gave just one other feather. It is curious that you were destined for this wand, while its brother gave you that scar" he finished pointing at her forehead.

The Potters looked horrified at the wand and Abby almost dropped the wand in her hand.

Harry's hand clasped Abby's and stopped her from dropping the wand. He said, "It chose you. Now it follows what you command it to do"

"Indeed, Ms Potter" Olivander said, "A wand is but a mere tool in the hands of a wizard. Eventually, a wizard is identified by what one does, not what one's wand is made of"

He turned to Harry, and asked, "What is your wand arm, Mr. Potter"

James cut in, saying, "Er. Mr. Olivander. Harry is a little different from the rest of us. The normal wands do not respond to his magic"

"Really?" Olivander said looking at Harry closely. "That is most curious. Then what responds?"

James answered for Harry again. "A bacillum is the only thing that ever reacted. That too, only in the past few months. The runes inside the bacillum began to light up when Harry held it"

"Evocational?" Olivander muttered as he looked at Harry.

"Yes. That is what Professor Dumbledore thinks too. He said something about Shamanism as well"

Olivander went inside the shop and came back with five ornate boxes in his arms. "I am sorry Mr. Potter that I do not make tools for rune masters or Shaman. All I have are these five older tools from the men of past"

He replied as he opened the boxes and very reverently placed the wands on the counter. Four of the wands were very ornately decorated in many colors. Each had gold inlays on its side that formed a specific design. They formed a lightning bolt on one, a tree, a wolf, and a cloud on the others.

The last wand was the most simple of them all. It was a cylindrical piece of wood about ten inches long and an inch in diameter. Unlike the other wands, this one did not have any design, except for a crack that ran the length of the wood. It neither had a bark, nor any kind of polish. It was as though someone had picked it up from the floor of a forest.

Olivander flicked his wand, and all five rose up into the air. They hung in the mid air side-by-side. "Try them, Mr. Potter" he urged.

Harry, who was standing behind his parents, looked up at them, and upon receiving an encouraging nod from them, lifted his hand up.

Lily was about to give Harry a nudge in the back towards the counter, when it happened.

The wands remained in their place above the counter, and Harry remained where he stood, about six feet away from them. But as the others looked, the distance between the wands and Harry reduced. But neither the wands nor Harry moved from their place. It was the space in between that _bent_.

Harry's hand closed around the last wooden wand, the most simplest of all, and slowly the space bent back to its place while Harry held the piece of wood.

Unlike the other customers, when Harry held his new wand, there were no sparks, nor was there a warm glow surrounding him. Except for the universe bending to hand Harry his new tool, there was no other indication of successful pairing.

All the inhabitants of the room watched in surprise as Harry said, "This is mine".

Olivander slowly let the breath he held out saying, "Marvalous"

"W-What is?" Lily asked.

Olivander turned to the older Potters, and replied, "That is no normal wand, Mrs. Potter. It had been in our ancestry for as long as there were records. Its wood unknown, core unknown, length varies every time measured. No. It is no normal wand"

"But there were no sparks" Abby cut in.

Harry looked at the wand in his hand with a frown, and suddenly, a burst of white sparks leapt out.

Olivander seemed more pleased about this. He said, "You are a Shaman, Mr. Potter. A Shaman's tool responds to what its owner commands"

Abby smiled at this, and said, "Try something else, Harry" It was almost a relief for her that her brother could do magic and found a wand. Now, nobody can stop him from going to Hogwarts.

Harry nodded and looked down at his new tool. As seconds trickled, the wand grew in length, until it was almost three foot long. As the others watched in surprise, one end of the wand rounded itself, forming an oval shaped head. Harry gave a curt nod, and grasped the head of the wand. He thumped the other end of the wand on the floor couple of times, and looked up pleased.

Abby asked in a bewildered voice, "Harry! You get a priceless ancient artifact that can do anything you command, and you make it into a walking stick?"

Harry nodded, "I like it"

Olivander seemed pleased at this. He said, "Two amazing things happen in one day. Two of the greatest mysteries in my mind were answered almost together. But one thing is certain, Messrs. Potter. We can expect great things from these twins. Great things, indeed."

"Er. How much for the wands, Mr. Olivander?" James asked.

"Seven galleons for Ms. Potter's wand, and I will not charge for Mr. Potter's tool. I only ask for a promise to return it back to my shop or my descendents when Mr. Potter no longer needs it"

"Harry, your wand is so different from others, we have to name it" Hope chirped.

Harry looked down at his new magical focusing tool, which even he agreed is not just a wand.

"Trudis" He said.

* * *

(A/N) I am very sorry for the delay in updating. In the last four months, my life had been quite hectic, with two vacations and catching up the work I missed, and a few more obligations, that I could not find much time to write. Now that I started writing again, I hope to update at regular intervals. Please don't give up on me just yet. :-)

(A/N2) I hope Harry's retribution was not too gory for my readers. After all, he dealt exactly one blow to each of his opponents.

(A/N3) Please let me know about the pace of the story also. it may seem a little slow, but when I think, I do not have a targeted size for each chapter. I write what flows through my mind. If it seems a little too slow, please let me know. I will try to speed it up a bit.

Enjoy, and don't forget to Review. It helps more than you can imagine.


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